Skip to main content

Obituary: Ghazali's legacy remembered

The late Tun Ghazali Shafie

TUN Ghazali Shafie revolutionised athletics during his near three-decade reign as the Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union (MAAU) president with the laying of running tracks in almost every state a legacy of his leadership.
Ghazali, who presided over the golden years of Malaysian track and field in the 1960s and 1970s, was also a visionary when MAAU became one of the first national associations to formulate a long term development plan.

The plan, which was put in place soon after he was elected president in 1962, led to sustained dominance at the Southeast Asian level while winning honours at Asian level, including a staggering five gold medals at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games.

Malaysian athletes regularly qualified for the Olympic, and Ghazali's departure from the athletics scene in 1989 preceded a decline in the fortunes of the sport from which it has yet to recover.

Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan, a sprinter in the 1960s and who later served under Ghazali as an MAAU vice president, said Ghazali's passing at age 88 on Sunday was a great loss to Malaysian athletics.

"He was a legend in his own time. I knew him first as an athlete and then as an office bearer and athletics was his passion.
The late Tun Ghazali Shafie
"In those days, there was no government help for sports and we were left to fend for ourselves but Tun worked tirelessly to raise funds for MAAU's programmes.

"We were the No 2 nation in Asia in 1966 and were Sea Games champions several times. Under his tutelage, care and mentorship, Malaysian athletics enjoyed its golden years," said Olympic Council of Malaysia deputy president Jegathesan, who still holds the 200m national record after 42 years.

In an effort to encourage states to contribute to development, Ghazali made it a point to rotate the National Championships around the country with the laying of a bitumen track a condition to hosting the meet.

Datuk A. Vaithilingam, a former MAAU council member, said Ghazali was also responsible for instituting other changes.

"I knew King Ghaz since 1962 when he took over MAAU. He had full control and democracy was his style, there was discipline, efficiency, transparency and mutual respect.

"He launched a five-year development plan in 1967 and by 1972 all states had qualified coaches and officials.

"Race walking and a competition calendar were introduced at national and state levels while states were urged to streamline their administration.

"All-weather tracks were installed in most states while the Malaysian Schools Sports Council and the Armed Forces were invited to sit on the council.

"His interest in the welfare of athletes was inspiring as he reigned during the height of athletics' excellence in Malaysia," said Vaithilingam.

2010/01/26
Devinder Singh- NST

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...

Indonesia Choose Komodo Dragon As SEA Games Mascot

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- Host for the 26th SEA Games, Indonesia has chosen the Komodo dragon as mascot for the 2011 Games which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Nov 11 to 25. The Indonesia SEA Games Organizing Committee (Inasoc), was qouted by Jakarta Post as saying that a pair of Komodo dragons, a male (Modo) and a female (Modi), were chosen in recognition of the Republic's conservation efforts to protect the dwindling number of the rare lizard. Modo and Modi were unveiled last night at a function in Jakarta, to mark the 200-day countdown before the games open on Nov 11 in Palembang. The Komodo dragons, the largest lizard in the world, only live on the Indonesian islands of Komodo in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. On Jan 15, Inasoc unveiled its logo, a Garuda eagle, to symbolize the power and grandeur of Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the Games between 1977, when it first competed, and 1997, failing to top the medal charts only twice in that p...