YES MINISTER: Something for Azalina to learn from

Tengku Abdullah quits as FAM deputy president

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has resigned as deputy president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) with immediate effect.

“It is with deep regret that I would like to inform you that I have decided to resign from all my positions in the FAM effective today,” he said yesterday in a letter signed by his personal secretary, Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Bakar.

Talk about accountability – Tengku Abdullah is setting an example that we hope others will follow, say like the Sports Minister. I mean the buck has to stop somewhere.  This what she says:

Reacting to Tengku Abdullah’s resignation, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman said he alone was not responsible for the state the game is in and Malaysia’s defeats in the Asian Cup.

“It is a collective responsibility.  

“We are losing a capable sports leader but I believe that he has made the decision after a great deal of thought. I hope something positive will come out of it.”

 Yes Minster, you said it, it is a collective responsibility and if the Tengku Mahkota can step down so should there rest.  I guess when you say “I hope something positive will come out of it.”  My hope is all of you will step down and bring in all new fresh faces in all sports and pray we can progress  from there.

If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting. To expect a different result is the definition of insanity!

Azalina Othman:Sukom 98 & Brickendonbury

Thanks to commentator Mr Bojangles, who has kindly reminded us of some of AZALINA’s other promises, other than Muslim Sportwomen need not cover up. 1. is the promise to sort out the commenwealth games accounts and the second is the High Performance Training Center in the UK.

Here is an extract on the Sukom 98 fiasco

Task Force for Sukom ’98 fiasco TASK force, pending consent from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will be formed to bring the six-year-old fiasco of closing the accounts for the 1998 Commonwealth Games to an end. Sukom ‘98 Sdn Bhd was the company formed to run the Games in Kuala Lumpur. Although the Games were a resounding success, the company has failed to close the accounts due to the numerous cases pending against them and vice-versa in court. But the Task Force, as far as Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said is concerned, could be the best solution to resolve the issue. Alternatively, Azalina is also looking at the provisions in the Sports Development Act, 1997, to empower the Sports Advisory Panel to look into the fiasco. “I would like to form a Task Force to look into the Sukom ‘98 affair but this will be discussed with the Prime Minister upon his return to Kuala Lumpur,” said Azalina at her ministry in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Abdullah is currently on vacation in San Francisco, in the United States. “There is an urgent need to look into Sukom ‘98 seriously, and as such, I want to discuss with him (the Prime Minister) on the possibility of setting up a Task Force to resolve the issue,” added Azalina. “What we need is a thorough inquiry on what actually transpired and either the Task Force or the Sports Advisory Panel will be tasked to look into it. “However, I prefer a Task Force but at this moment, it is just a suggestion.” The advisory panel is headed by former Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Kamaruzzaman Shariff but the panel’s term ends later this month. In February this year, then Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, released the names of companies that have court cases pending against Sukom and vice-versa. According to Hishammuddin, a total of 24 cases were filed against these companies but only five are still pending in court. Sukom ‘98 got judgement on 15 cases while four of the cases against them were ruled in their favour. Collectively, the companies owe Sukom ‘98 RM12,432,242.30. “There is also a need to get more input from professionals as each time the issue is raised with officers from the ministry, they reply in Latin. Nobody seems to know what is going on,” said Azalina. “Which is why I believe there is a need for input from professionals like accountants and lawyers to advise the Government on how to bring to an end to this episode. “Whichever committee is tasked to look into the matter, they will be answerable to me (Sports Minister), and hopefully, we can bring an end to the issue.” And the Task Force could be the answer.

On the HPT – High Performance Training Center in Brickendenburry this is what Citizen Nades just wrote in the SUN:

Come clean on public money spent

Newspapers can criticise, but it must be made responsibly and aimed at correcting things. This will help the party criticised to accept them (criticisms) positively.
Leaders are only human and if there is nobody to criticise us, then we may be carried away by our positions. In a democratic system, our fate lies in the hands of the people, as such, it is best to be corrected early rather than be rejected by the people later.
- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak when launching the Pahang edition of the Bahasa Malaysia tabloid, Kosmo!, November 2006

Until a year ago, many – this writer included – never knew of Brickendonbury or its significance to Malaysia. But just before last year’s World Cup finals in Germany, this small village about 65km from London was thrown into the spotlight.

theSun has written extensively on the proposal to create a High Performance Training Centre (HPTC) in an area which also houses the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC).

And over the past five weeks, we have exposed the lies and half-truths that have been conjured up to justify spending £10 million (RM 70 million) to upgrade non-existent hostels and facilities.

Criticism of this wasteful expenditure is being made responsibly and aimed at correcting things and saving taxpayers’ money.

Last year, when I first wrote to Hertford councillors who would decide on the proposals, one of them – Nicholas Wilson – replied in an e-mail: “The Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre land is deemed for research and development, it would be very hard to change the use of the existing centre and land …”

In the weeks and months that followed, I had been in touch with councillors and even local journalists.

I was at the TARRC in Brickendonbury on May 25 and May 30 and discovered that ministry officials had not been entirely honest. Allow me to put things in perspective.

Firstly, they told us that renovations would be carried out on existing hostels and facilities but there are no hostels or facilities to upgrade. Even so, the council officers say that they would only consider an application for a playing field with a small changing room.

Then they told us that the Under-16 football team would use it as a base and train with the Arsenal Academy. But as I discovered, the team did not train at the Academy, and the players stayed in a four-star hotel.

Then they said that every sen spent would be accounted for and confirmed that RM800,000 had been paid to an English architect.

However, according to council records, no plans had been submitted. After paying such a hefty sum, a new firm of architects has been appointed.

So, why did we part with this kind of money for nothing?

Every right-thinking Malaysian shares the DPM’s views that leaders can be carried away by their positions and should be open to fair criticisms.

To summarise this whole issue, we now have spent RM800,000 without a single line being drawn; we have spent an additional RM750,000 to send players to England to stay in a hotel and train on an uneven pitch at TARRC.

Also, there are no “existing” hostels to “renovate” or “upgrade”.

So, it brings us back to the basic question: Why weren’t Malaysians told of these and other material facts which are likely to emerge in the near future?

Rumours had been circulating that a “Malaysian middleman company” had been appointed as “project consultants” but the then director-general of the National Sports Council, Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, categorically told colleague Terence Fernendez and me in an interview that “no outsiders were involved” and that he was in “the thick of things”.

Maybe he is not in the thick of things anymore as Ramlan has moved to the National Sports Institute, but as late as June 2, he has issued statements on the HPTC.

But now, the said rumour has surfaced yet again, with some quarters claiming that the previous architects – David Lane Associates – were not paid that much as claimed, and that some middlemen have pocketed a percentage for their “services”.

The DPM has his hands full with many other issues of national interest. The responsibility of answering all questions on this so-called training centre should be left to the sports minister or Ramlan – both of whom had been vocal in pushing this project through.

I am sure he is aware that there have been attempts to pass the buck and he should make sure that those responsible for this mess own up and explain themselves.

They should come clean – once and for all – and tell everything the rakyat want to know about how their money is being spent. No hiding behind the Cabinet Committee on Sports, the Official Secrets Act or some such obscure regulations.

We have a right to know and I am sure they will be reminded by the DPM’s remarks that “it is best to be corrected early rather than be rejected by the people later.” Especially so, when some leaders have the tendency to challenge journalists to stand for election if they are not happy with their policies.

R. Nadeswaran is deputy editor (special reporting) at theSun. He can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com

In addition, I have posted several press releases on the HPT here:

London Facility to be Upgraded

Azalina Othman’s decree: Muslim sportswomen need not cover up!

I picked this Reuters report in the Borneo Bulletin on Thursday 12 July 2007.

Here is the scanned article:

To download article, click here
It may be bit hard to read so let me reproduce some key quotes:

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) -Malaysia’s sports minister, a Muslim
woman with a martial-arts black-belt, likes to lead by example: she does not wear a headscarf and insists that Muslim sportswomen do not have to cover up either.

…Azalina told Reuters…that Muslim sportswomen were free here to dress just like their non-muslim rivals…..

“It’s never been an issue in Malaysia” she said, declaring that women of all ages should and so, feel free in this country to “wear shorts and jump around.“

…I am quite thankful that the people of Malaysia are still open minded……

..Azalina, who is a member of Sisters in Islam, a group that lobbies for womens right….

There you go. If one needed a good definition of Islam Hadhari, a Minister has just defined it. The Minister’s key points:

1. Leadership by example – do what your Minster does as that true way of doing things

2. Muslims should follow the lead of non-muslims, after all if they can do it, so can we

3. Malaysia is a great country – feel free to do what ever you wish…be open minded

In addition, this article really put into perspective SIS definition of womens rights I guess.

I really hope that the Perak and Perlis Mufti’s take this up and I will be the first to put up my hand if she is looking for a non open minded Malaysian.

In the Press: London Facility to be upgraded, Star, Friday 9th February 2007, N14

What an interesting title I though. What London facility are we upgrading? I read the next line and it says: “Cost of Refurbishment at RM69m”. Now I am even more curious. We are going to refurbish and existing facility in London for RM69 million? What facility can this be? Then the paper says, its the High Performance Training Center in Brickendonbury, London.

We had a High Performance Training Center (HPT)in Brickendonbury, London?
I though all we had was the Tun Razak Research Center, which is a Rubber Research Institute in Brickendonbury.

I recall a lot of controversy on this HPT thing. Then there was the issues with the UK authorities. THis was followed by a promise that said “We will only allow an amount that is considered reasonable. Don’t worry, when we decide, we will take into account the people’s views.”

Ooops I missed it, it was actually announced that a decision to go ahead had been made.

I wonder what did the British authorities say and what did they approve and I wonder when he said he was taking into account of people’s views, who are these people and what were their views?

And now the story reads as if the center is already in existence and it will be upgraded. Read the whole article in the Star here.