Skip to main content

So-o long, Clement

Clement Soo, one of the longest administrators of a national sports association in the country, is calling it quits after 33 years of involvement in karate.

Clement, who initiated the formation of the Malaysia Karate Federation (Makaf) in 1978, said that he would step down as the secretary-general ahead of the upcoming biennial general meeting (BGM) in Malacca on March 20.

Clement Soo: Also resigning as vicepresident of the Asian Karate Federation.
 
He is also resigning as vice-president of the Asian Karate Federation (AKF).

The 64-year-old Clement has been the secretary-general of Makaf since 1990 and he said that he was not seeking re-election to make way for younger blood.

ā€œI think itā€™s enough already. Itā€™s time to let someone younger take over and show that he is also able to serve the association well,ā€ he said.

ā€œMy only involvement in karate after this is to conduct karate lessons.ā€

Clement was the first national coach when Malaysia took part in the inaugural Asean Championships organised by Indonesia in 1979 and the team emerged as the overall champions.

Clement, who started practising karate in 1966, took the initiative to consolidate all the various clubs under one umbrella by organising a pro-tem committee meeting in 1978 and Makaf were formed.
Makaf later amended their constitution in 1984 to allow state registered karate associations to become members.

His decision to leave Makaf may come as a surprise to the karate fraternity but it could be sparked by the recent controversial move by the technical committee at the beginning of the year to oust coach P. Arivalagan.
Arivalaganā€™s contract was not renewed as foreign expertise was sought in an attempt to bring Malaysian karate to greater heights.

National exponents threatened to walk out of the squad if their coach were removed and it was only after the intervention of the National Sports Council (NSC) that a compromise was reached to allow Arivalagan to stay on until the end of the year.


Clement expressed his unhappiness with the initial decision of the technical committee not to renew Arivalaganā€™s contract as he was not informed of the meeting in the first place.

While Clementā€™s only regret is that the affiliates could not work together, he will want to remember the high points when Malaysia made a breakthrough with a two-gold medal show at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

ā€œWe managed to keep up the standards in Busan in 2002 and in Guangzhou last year. Iā€™m happy that I helped to bring the level of Malaysian karate to be a powerhouse in Asia.
ā€œWe were behind Indonesia but things have changed.

ā€œWe never failed to contribute significant gold medals in the SEA Games and Asian Games.
ā€œT. Ponniyah was my student before and he passed the torch to his son, Arivalagan, to take over the national squad. In fact, most of the heads of karate groups were trained by me.ā€

Clement was also the former referee council chairman of the AKF and the first Malaysian to become a qualified World Karate Federation (WKF) referee.


Star

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,...

Chance to catch Messi and company

  FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and vice president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin with FC Barcelona chief executive officer Antoni Rossich yesterday. Pic by Osman Adnan LIONEL Messi's presence alone could sell half the tickets despite reigning world club champions FC Barcelona's date with a Malaysian XI at the National Stadium on Aug 10 falling on the third day of Hari Raya. The much anticipated visit of the four-time European champions comes with expectations from fans who want a full star-studded line-up. "The summer will be a busy period with a lot of uncertainty with players moving away and coming in. "But yes, our plans are to bring our full team here," said FC Barcelona chief executive officer Antoni Rossich yesterday. Rossich was speaking at the announcement of the friendly match, which is part of the three-match FC Barcelona Asia Tour 2013, which sees the giants also visiting China and Thailand. Also pre...