PROFESSIONAL golf and taekwondo have hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons for several years and the governing bodies of these two sports were again leading the way in controversies this year.
The power struggle and feuds between parties in the Malaysian Professional Golfers Association (MPGA) for more than two years had forced Sports Commissioner Datuk Nik Mahmud Nik Yusof to suspend it in August last year.
An ad-hoc committee chaired by Datuk Thomas Lee was appointed and efforts on its part saw a forum, attended by Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, bear fruit as the pros finally agreed to bury their differences.
Ahmad Shabery came prepared as he announced a grant of RM1.5 million from the government, of which RM1 million was for a golf academy and the remainder for a 12-leg national circuit.
The MPGA was also laid to rest as the new name for the body is Professional Golfers Association of Malaysia (PGAM), as announced on Dec 23.
A president is yet to be identified for PGAM but the professional golfers will be going into 2010 with relief as not only will they have sufficient tournaments to earn a living but the golf scene at long last is free of controversies.
Taekwondo's issues have been ongoing for more than four years now, with the latest a decision by the National Sports Council to drop the sport from its 2010 programme.
The Sports Minister appointed an ad-hoc committee chaired by Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar. But its efforts to solve the problems were derailed by several parties.
The saga has seen the Malaysian Taekwondo Association (MTA) being de-registered (2005), reinstated (2007) and suspended (2008) with no solution forthcoming.
Taekwondo's problem lies in the states, Certain individuals, as the ad-hoc committee found out when it attempted to amend MTA's constitution, are more worried about their positions than the future of the sport.
That prompted the NSC to exclude taekwondo from next year's Malaysia Games and this has been followed by dropping the national senior and junior programmes.
The ad-hoc committee is said to have devised a strategy, which will see a completely new structure in taekwondo and a new national body but with the issue already having been to courtrooms, it will be interesting to see whether this materialises.
Another association which, to the surprise of many, found itself embroiled in controversy was the Malaysian Karate Federation's (Makaf) .
Its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Nov 29 was marred by a walkout by seven affiliates.
The seven objected to Malacca Karate-do Association deputy chairman Lau Poon Long's candidacy for vice president and staged a walkout after the meeting's chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Nordin Abdullah declined to meet their demands.
Noor, who retained his position as deputy president unopposed, then allowed the meeting to continue as the remaining 13 affiliates, comprising 63 delegates, voted in the new executive committee for the 2010-11 term.
The AGM saw Malacca chief minister Datuk Seri Ali Rustam elected unopposed as president but he is likely to face a tough time as the seven affiliates had lodged an official complaint with the Sports Commissioner's Office two weeks ago.
Nik Mahmud is awaiting the minutes of the AGM and also an explanation from the new committee before taking the next course of action.
One can only hope that Makaf does not go the way of MTA and MPGA as it will not do any good to the national karate exponents vying for honours in the Asian Games in Guangzhou next year. K.M. Boopathy
An ad-hoc committee chaired by Datuk Thomas Lee was appointed and efforts on its part saw a forum, attended by Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, bear fruit as the pros finally agreed to bury their differences.
Ahmad Shabery came prepared as he announced a grant of RM1.5 million from the government, of which RM1 million was for a golf academy and the remainder for a 12-leg national circuit.
The MPGA was also laid to rest as the new name for the body is Professional Golfers Association of Malaysia (PGAM), as announced on Dec 23.
A president is yet to be identified for PGAM but the professional golfers will be going into 2010 with relief as not only will they have sufficient tournaments to earn a living but the golf scene at long last is free of controversies.
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| FROM LEFT: DATUK AHMAD SHABERY CHEEK, DATUK NIK MAHMUD NIK YUSOF AND DATUK THOMAS LEE. |
The Sports Minister appointed an ad-hoc committee chaired by Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar. But its efforts to solve the problems were derailed by several parties.
The saga has seen the Malaysian Taekwondo Association (MTA) being de-registered (2005), reinstated (2007) and suspended (2008) with no solution forthcoming.
Taekwondo's problem lies in the states, Certain individuals, as the ad-hoc committee found out when it attempted to amend MTA's constitution, are more worried about their positions than the future of the sport.
That prompted the NSC to exclude taekwondo from next year's Malaysia Games and this has been followed by dropping the national senior and junior programmes.
The ad-hoc committee is said to have devised a strategy, which will see a completely new structure in taekwondo and a new national body but with the issue already having been to courtrooms, it will be interesting to see whether this materialises.
Another association which, to the surprise of many, found itself embroiled in controversy was the Malaysian Karate Federation's (Makaf) .
Its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Nov 29 was marred by a walkout by seven affiliates.
The seven objected to Malacca Karate-do Association deputy chairman Lau Poon Long's candidacy for vice president and staged a walkout after the meeting's chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Nordin Abdullah declined to meet their demands.
Noor, who retained his position as deputy president unopposed, then allowed the meeting to continue as the remaining 13 affiliates, comprising 63 delegates, voted in the new executive committee for the 2010-11 term.
The AGM saw Malacca chief minister Datuk Seri Ali Rustam elected unopposed as president but he is likely to face a tough time as the seven affiliates had lodged an official complaint with the Sports Commissioner's Office two weeks ago.
Nik Mahmud is awaiting the minutes of the AGM and also an explanation from the new committee before taking the next course of action.
One can only hope that Makaf does not go the way of MTA and MPGA as it will not do any good to the national karate exponents vying for honours in the Asian Games in Guangzhou next year. K.M. Boopathy
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