It may be the season of giving but not in the case of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
For their affiliates are fuming that the national body has not paid them their subsidies for participation in the various national tournaments since October.
And this has caused the states to question the priorities of MHC as it has sent the national teams to various tours of late.
MHC has yet to pay participation subsidies for the Raja Noora Ashikin Cup held in October, the National Under 16 Indoor , the National Under 14 for boys and girls and the recently concluded National Under 21.
The amount ranges from RM3,000 to RM5,000 per state per tournament.
That is not all for Perak and Terengganu who played host to the RNA Cup and Under 14 have yet to receive their organizational grants of RM35,000 and RM70,000 respectively.
"They expect states to participate in every tournament yet they fail to make good their word on subsidy payment " said an irate state hockey association official who declined to be named in fear of repercussions.
"The MHC must also understand that we at the state level are hard pressed financially as so many tourneys are held close to each other.
"We take into account the subsidies to be received and many a time have to dig deep into our pockets when subsidies are not received even though the tournament has concluded."
But while the states are unhappy, they are grateful to the MHC President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah whom they feel has done a lot to uplift the profile and performance of the sport.
"Our President is a class act and may not even be aware of the predicament on the non payment of subsidies," added another official.
"We need to address this issue and hope MHC will settle the dues soon."
For the record the MHC will hold its council meeting on January 4 in Kuantan
