Skip to main content

Newly-elected president aims to repair damage done to athletics

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad finally has his shot at restoring Malaysian athletics to its glory days.

Zainal, who defeated incumbent Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU) president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim by two votes at the annual general meeting yesterday, however, faces a stiff challenge in lifting the battered image of the association and sport.

But he had been so confident of winning that he came prepared with his victory speech to outline his plans for the future.

The 71-year-old Zainal, who has been Negri Sembilan AA president since 1992, said he had long wanted to get athletics back on track.

Zainal had served as MAU secretary from 1969-1972 and vice-president from 1980-2001. He was also the coaching committee chairman from 1979-1990.

Victory yesterday has thrust him into the hot seat and he is looking forward to repairing the damage done to the sport in recent years.

“I will have to deliver now that the baton has been passed to me. I don’t have a magic wand but I have a good track record as an athlete and official,” said Zainal, who was a sprintler and hurdler at state level from 1965-68.

“We must close ranks and work as a team to transform MAU and get athletics flourishing again. There are no short cuts, we must work hard to achieve success.

“I want to run MAU in a professional way with capable, committed and experienced officials.”

Zainal said his wife, Tan Sri Nuraizah Abdul Hamid, had discouraged him from contesting the MAU elections for the past 10 years.

“This time, I didn’t ask her but just plunged in and only told her afterwards. I’m happy that she respects my decision and continues to be my inspiration,” he said.

Zainal said he cannot bring changes by himself and needs all the support he can get from the government, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), the Education Ministry, the states and other agencies as well as the corporate and private sectors.

The Star

Labels:
Location: Puj 6, Puj 6

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’

Saya setuju. We are working on more coaches! “ @ManOlimpik : Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’ http://t.co/7D7wmHWaNy ” — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 10, 2014 The benchmark. Can our junior athletes train as hard as Malaysia's world No.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei? “IT IS okay lah. The training is not too bad lah. I will try lah … Wah, so hard lah today.” These are some of the common statements I hear from our juniors nowadays. It is not only in badminton. It is the easy-going, laid-back attitude and lack of competitiveness at grassroots level that we have problems producing quality players. I have travelled quite a bit. After ending my decade-long career with the national team, I went to play in the league in Europe. It’s different there. The European athletes know what they want. And they do it with real focus. Even the young ones possess admirable self-control and show a high level of commitment. During my time in the ...
12 comments
Read more

Organising Major Sports Events Can Inspire Sports Culture Among The People - Khairy

PUTRAJAYA, June 5 (Bernama) -- Organising major sports events can help inspire sports culture among the people and ensure a healthy lifestyle said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy said the Tour of Malaysia cycling race organised since 1963, for example, can encourage more people to take the sport in a more competitive way or just for recreation purposes. "A study carried out by a world renown medical journal, The Lancet, revealed that 61 percent of adults in Malaysia do not engage themselves in active sports. "A study by the Health Ministry revealed that only 25 percent of Malaysians exercise," he said in his speech when launching the 2013 Tour of Malaysia (Jelajah Malaysia) at the Youth and Sports Ministry, here, Wednesday. "Cycling, though not as popular here as in countries like Denmark, the activity is becoming popular among the people as can be seen through an increase in sale of bicycles for recreation," he sa...
Post a Comment
Read more

KBS realistik

TERUJA...Shabery (dua dari kanan) melancarkan Logo Tahun Industri Sukan 2011-2012 di Casa 1, MSN, semalam.    KETIKA beberapa sukan utama diletakkan sasaran meraih pingat khususnya emas di Sukan Olimpik 2012 London, penyertaan bola sepak dan hoki sebagai keluarga baru program Road To London pula dilihat sekadar membantu mereka melepasi kelayakan. Mungkin bersikap lebih realistik dengan keupayaan kedua-dua sukan itu di pentas lebih tinggi, Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek mahu segala bantuan diberikan kepada sejumlah 50 pemain bola sepak dan hoki kebangsaan bagi membolehkan mereka tersenarai sebagai kontinjen ke London. “Bagi acara hoki dan bola sepak, kita tidak boleh melihat bantuan perlu diberi selepas mereka layak tetapi kita akan cuba bantu mereka supaya mereka layak. “Tiada kompromi terhadap misi mendapatkan emas pertama tetapi sasaran kita tahun ini ialah mendapatkan seberapa ramai atlet ke Sukan Olimpik,” katanya selepas mempen...
Post a Comment
Read more