Monday, April 5, 2010

As the foreign coach saga finally comes to an end, certain "officials" knowingly or unknowingly have become "enemies" of Malaysian hockey.

The story commenced about 20 months ago, when there were like-minded people who felt that Malaysian hockey's international standing had suffered significantly when Malaysia yet again failed to qualify for the Olympics. This time it was for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There was an undercurrent build-up to find a replacement for the national coach although his contract had yet to expire. While all this was going on the National Sports Council (NSC) had earlier recommended to the Ministry of Youth & Sports (KBS) a massive salary rise for the national coach. Absolutely a "split personality" act by the NSC ie. endeavouring to reward a coach for failing to qualify. A confusing state of affairs!!!!

With this background the hockey fraternity was "enlightened" with anonymous letters from "Cinta Hoki" attempting to swell opinions on the disastrous state of affairs in Malaysian hockey. That saw the birth of the "102 Group" made up of former hockey internationals who whipped up ground sentiments with their signature campaign and press releases. This culminated in a 100 page report comprising of recommendations to transform Malaysian hockey, which seems to be collecting dust. Latest status report indicates it is in 1 inch of dust!!!!

Around this time as the hockey fraternity was crying for change, ideas were floated to bring a foreign coach into the Malaysian hockey scene. Malaysian hockey history seems to dictate from the time of Terry Walsh, Volcker Knapp and Paul Lissek that these foreign coaches seem to have that "magic" to transform Malaysian international hockey fortunes. Unfortunately Lissek stuck too long and took positions of Consultant in later years which messed his own reputation.

1st in the list and prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, preliminary discussions were held with the Korean coach of the Chinese national team. This was South Korea's legendary coach who took them to the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. This Korean was professional enough despite his interest to pursue any further discussions until after the Olympics when his contract expires.

Simultaneously in the Malaysian hockey scenario, the imminent change in the leadership in MHF crystallised and HH Tengku Mahkota of Pahang (TM) became the new President. MHF's new Deputy President who was a "giant killer" in defeating the incumbent Deputy President, knowingly or unknowingly engaged into discussion with another Korean coach, who was the legendary coach's assistant. The alternate media ie blogsphere in South Korea latched on to the news and reported that the Korean assistant coach was to be offered the Malaysian job. The legendary Korean coach did not want to be drawn into any controversy ie 2 Koreans fighting for an assignment and therefore withdrew from any further discussions. Equally the shortsightedness of the MHF Deputy President in placing the legendary coach in the same platform as his assistant must have hurt his pride and forced him to withdraw.

Out of desperation the NSC officials had a secret meeting with the Korean legendary coach in Bangkok trying to coax him to reconsider his decision. "Solid as the Rock of Gibraltar", the Korean refused to move to the sentiments of the NSC officials. Malaysian hockey lost the opportunity to secure the services of a renowned coach due to incompetency and lack of understanding of other cultures by a certain key official. A "Boo Boo" of the highest order.

The hunt for a foreign coach continued and this was also the commitment of the TM. Meantime a set of local interim coaches were put in as a temporary measure awaiting the appointment of the foreign coach.

The hunt took them "down under" to Australia and they identified Australia's assistant national coach for the Beijing Olympics as the candidate. A mix up between the Vice President in charge of the Medical Committee and the Secretary of MHF constituted sufficient confusion that the person concerned took up an appointment in New Zealand with the women's team. It would seem MHF's officials were their own "enemies" to screw up matters. Indeed the communication between the Secretary and the Australian was "shocking" enough in language and the manner in which he wanted to conclude matters. Obviously "fishing" for an overseas trip in his style of English!!!!!

No the saga did not end there. Asia had closed its doors while Australia seemed to show no interest and therefore MHF turned to Europe to a Dutch. A reputed coach having handled the Dutch team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and having had a stint with the Pakistan national team, this Dutch coach was coaching a club in Holland. He seemed to be an ideal candidate for the Malaysian job.

Meanwhile the 2 independent-minded interim coaches, who were working in an ill-disciplined players environment where the team manager and the Team Management Committee (TMC) jointly were playing "politics" to undermine them, had taken Malaysia to the 4th spot in Asia Cup & Champions Challenge and to the finals of the World Cup Qualifiers. A great achievement in an "hostile" hockey climate.

The Dutch coach was in Malaysia late last year to talk terms for his appointment. He was seeking a remuneration package that left a number of officials attending the meeting "stunned". This meeting that was supposed to be attended by a few but the Secretary made it a point to get as many as possible to attend. What needed to be a negotiation ended up as a panel question and answer session. The Dutch coach was put in an awkward position as he was still with the Dutch club and, rather than honouring privacy on the matter, the Malaysian officials made the matter public. Again the failure to appreciate sensitivities by our hockey officials proves the point that they are Malaysian hockey's "enemies".

Obviously on top of a high-valued package he also wanted a fitness coach from Holland to be with him for a year. It seems that the Dutch coach package was not an issue because of the kind generosity of the TM to find a way to top it up. The issue of a Dutch assistant was a "no go" from the start. Unfortunately, MHF continued procrastinating on the issue and had dragged the matter on for nearly 5 to 6 months. Negotiations were also held in New Delhi at the World Cup and the MHF officials became aware that for most of 2010 he will definitely be out of the equation. The Dutch coach offered some solution for the interim period but it did not go down well.

In many a way it is MHF's lack of understanding of the Dutch coach's predicament and the pre-requisite for privacy on the matter that had again screwed up Malaysia's search for a foreign coach. Whether such things are intentionally done or an act of stupidity, is difficult to put a finger on. As it is repetitive, one cannot but come to one conclusion. Take for example when the Director General of NSC made the announcement that the Dutch coach has been engaged by MHF. I presume that would have been the "final straw" for the Dutch coach, as he too would have wondered what was happening in the administration of Malaysian hockey.

There is no doubts that certain hockey officials in their actions have become the "enemies" to Malaysian hockey either knowingly or unknowingly. After 20 months MHF cannot even fulfill its own commitment. No it has nothing to do with the TM but rather it is certain "bungling" officials who for strange reasons persist on messing things up. A price Malaysian hockey is paying for.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are a few factual errors in this article. Namely the Korean coach brought the Korean team to a silver medal and not Gold Medal at the Seoul Olympics. As well, the assistant coach for the Kookaburra, mens team in Beijing is currently coaching in Belgium and not the NZ Womens Coach. He was previously the U21 Mens Coach. It is pointless trying to get a foreign coach when the structure for hockey is moribund and lack "depth" and "width." I am a coach here in the Australian league and know how the Aussies built up their strength over the years as I arrive in Australia when they are just starting to introduced the structure borrowed from Pakistan.

Anonymous said...

Silver at Sydney 2000 Olympics not Seoul 1988 Olympics. Do a proper research for crying out loud! And the Aussie coach in NZ now was also part of the coaching team at Beijing Olympics.

Anonymous said...

Dear MHF/MSN,
Why only send players to oversea attachment? We should partially send all the management staff and coaches too to learn the professionalism to handle hockey in our country!

Anonymous said...

102 got their profit and opportunity in hand already..so just keep silent then..
Then who care about their paper??? Just recycle it to Apek Surat Khabar Lama???

Anonymous said...

ARMPIT/MOLEST TALKING AS THOUGH HE IS THE GURU OF SPORTS...

GO BACK TO TAMPIN AND RIDE YOUR BIKE.

RIDSECT AND JUG OF BEER AND ELECTRIC RAJAN, GO AND FLY KITE......

DR.IKING THAT DESTROYED ALL THE FOREIGN COACH NEG.

AND NOW HE IS THE TEAM MANAGER, GONE MALAYSIAN HOCKEY. HE SAID KOREAN IS NO TEAM. HA HA HA HA HA..

HE THINKS THIS IS GUDWARA CUP AND KELAB AMAN HOCKEY STANDARD.

KOREA IS CHAMPIONS TROPHY AND ASIA CHAMPIONS AND 6 IN THE WORLD.

TALKING RUBBISH AND HOW DID HE BECAME DR.INKING.

FORMER MSIAN PLAYER

Anonymous said...

Well done MHF.

We are number 14 and worst was 16 during the last MHF regime was in control.

But the same office bearers are in current and previous MHF.

Lucky we have the TM as President to uplift MHF and hockey.

Bravo.....

Anonymous said...

TBH & Sauful should be given free hand to lead the team again. They are the one who are trying very hard to develop a good team & here we have MHF trying to bring in own dog to lead a team.

Well done to TBH & Saiful for throwing out indisplined players & have shown no favouritism in fielding players..despite u guys had hard time from stupid ridsect.

Anonymous said...

Bro, Just would like to find out what have the 102 Gang done for Malaysian hockey?

Where is their contrubition?

At least conduct lah some basic training for school boys in your housing areas... NATO

Anonymous said...

you are doubting dr. he is all time great.beleive me we will be 2012 olympics as this the best chance. dr will never be in the hockey scene if malaysia fails tjis time

Anonymous said...

I would like to set the facts right. VP, Dr SS was entrusted to negociate with the coach. But the secretary started to email and call the coach and try to seal the deal. Secretary and 1 NSC official wanted to go to Australia to discuss with the coach. When two person was negosiating , he was confused. As for the Korean, he did not want to come to Malaysia. Firstly his son is studying in a university in China and secondly he is contracted to the ladies team. Our NSC officials were keen to travel...so go to Bangkok to discuss when he has already said a BIG NO.
In between, our smart DP started to discuss with the assistant coach from Korea. He was in Malaysia for holidays & was in Seremban. When DP discussed with him, some jokers saw or found out about it. Then this story leaked out. In Korean press was out...2 koreans fighting to be Malaysian coach. So both tak jadi.
Why blame the Dr.? He was merely doing what he was asked to do.
If the GM was there earlier, then we will have both of them here. He is Mr Fix. He can fix everything.
Then he will advise them what to do.......
DR LLB

Anonymous said...

Where r u 102? Why so quiet? Got your rewards....so don't bother about hockey anymore. R u all happy with the new developments in hockey & MHF? Please comment

103 = quietly doing hockey development

Anonymous said...

THE 102 IS WORKING VERY HARD TO REVAMP THE HOCKEY IN MALAYSIA, BECAUSE THE 10/2 GANG SOLD MALAYSIA.ARE YOU BLIND OR WHAT? CANT YOU SEE WHAT THE 102 DID OR DOING?A SPLENDID MHL 2009/2010 WITH ESPN INVOLVE,MUCH ORGANISE AGE GROUP COMPETITION,RECORD PARTICIPATION IN RAZAK CUP,RECORD PARTICIPATION IN JUNIOR LEAGUE... SLOWLY IMPROVING MALAYSIAN RANKING IN THE WORLD....
I would like to mention a quote from Barrack Obama.

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way.

The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't, its whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you chose to persevere.

Anonymous said...

CANT YOU SEE WHAT THE 102 DID OR DOING?

A SPLENDID MHL 2009/2010 WITH ESPN INVOLVE
- Its HRH TM's hard work

MUCH ORGANISE AGE GROUP COMPETITION
- Its HRH TM's hard work and passion of the game by malaysian even without 102!! Why? Previously no organized age group competition?

RECORD PARTICIPATION IN RAZAK CUP
- Its HRH TM's hard work and passion of the game by malaysian even without 102!! In addition of National Player participation made positive impact..

RECORD PARTICIPATION IN JUNIOR LEAGUE
- Its HRH TM's hard work and passion of the game by malaysian even without 102!! Previously also the participation is quite good..Why 102 didn't help the team to get the sponsorship or at least free coaching?

SLOWLY IMPROVING MALAYSIAN RANKING IN THE WORLD
- Its HRH TM's hard work and passion of the game by malaysian even without 102!!

102 is just a name to make good use of situation to get the benefit and profit..
Dunno what will happen to MHF if HRH TM resigned?
Only HRH TM is the REAL HEART of Malaysian Hockey now!!!

-Teaching Community-

Anonymous said...

102 brought HRH TM to MHF and get rid the former DP of MHF and get rid the the people who sold malaysian team.Thats all.
Now anybody can contribute to hockey not cronies.That is important.So many new people has come in and so many new things is happening.If you feel sour grape we can understand why.Dont blame others,just blame yourself.

Anonymous said...

102 is all talk and no action.You said you have develop hockey and brought improvement to hockey.You are a load of bullshit, all of you.Look at the adminnistration of MHF, its like a circus,You dont follow constitution set by mhf.Your coching commetee, UMPIRING commetee, development,etc are all in shambeles. I am very sure if , if you go trough the minutes of meeting and other document you will get headacke and heatracke. Thats the work of 102. So dont take credit of work of the others.

Anonymous said...

Anon. April 13, 2010 7:35 PM,

About your word, 'Now anybody can contribute to hockey not cronies'.
Its quite interesting.
Don't you see that the chronism in Malaysian hockey / MHF never die? It's only change from one previously to another currently!!!
Now is the time for 102 chronism to conquer right? Don't make HRH TM as puppet and make MHF like a circus!
102 also do the same by take credits of others work especially teachers who passionly do development for hockey. 'Lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama'!. Nowadays, teachers are no more as stupid as you think. Don't you notice that nowadays a lot of teachers obtain their degree especially in Sport Science? A lot of them also are Ex- National Sr and Jr Trainee beside become the state great player once.
Just watch and do reasearch of Jose Maurinho, Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, etc. They are not a great player in their days. But their BRAIN make them a great coach currently!
MHF should do COMBINATION and not SEPERATION of all the experties they got to coach and bring a good combination in national hockey team setup. Grass root also an important task and TEACHERS should be give a task also in the National Coaching setup.

Anonymous said...

102 seems so quiet? Speechless? clueless?

Gandhi, said...

The comment is edited.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "As the foreign coach saga finally comes to an end,...":

Hello hockey brothers! 102 have done their part. Played & served the country. Played important role to whack MHF & get rid of former DP & National Coach.
Now we have penetrated MHF. GM is our man. Sub committee also has our man. Our next plan:
i) Take Secretary post
ii) Plant a puppet DP to control MHF with the Sec & GM
iii) Kick out the Treasurer who is not functioning. Soon our man will emerge
iv) GM is already doing a good job. He has penetrated MHF & doing (word deleted) from inside. Mirnawan, Dharma & Gopi is already in. Some donkeys from Coaching com tried to remove them but failed. Nobody can stop us.
v) Development programme will be done by 102 & we will be reconized. The post will be taken by our man.
vii) GM is (Sentence deleted). Our group meet often to change information & prepare for December 2010 (AGM). How I know ? (Sentence deleted)viii) We are going to bring up on DP's old case (sentence deleted) May be we will get South President or North beer King to bring up. NSC also will be in (words deleted). (Sentence deleted)They are ready to come in once a report is lodged. (Sentence deleted). We want to take Malaysia to higher level. Malaysia should be in TOP 10 in 2 years time.
102 working in silent.

Gandhi, said...

The comment has been edited.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "As the foreign coach saga finally comes to an end,...":

Dear 102 fools. Yes, you have played for country . some of you excell, and most of you are load of rubish. From your plan it looks like masian hockey is doomed.You talk of geting your people into MHF, you never mention qualified and profesional,9SENTENCES HAVE BEEN DELETED)So you load of 102, stop kiling Hockey. Go do what you do best, talk crap.

Anonymous said...

Coach SS, I bet you will come back to hockey because this is where you can cari makan. Don't show off with your Benz. We know how you got it. Be sincere with yourself. Come & join us the King Maker of MHF. We have big plans coming. But u cannot bring your BOSS. U join us cos u can't beat us. We will have a plan for you. We know u have capabilities and talent.
102 on Fire

Anonymous said...

Coach SS MUST & WILL bring his Boss. How to survive with out him. But new VP of northen state (formely Secretary) will be at his throat. Will be banging him left right top & bottom.
How is that they are working hand in hand to bring SS boss. Something fishy is happening. We must investigate.
WHISKY

Anonymous said...

Hello 102 on Fire,
You fellows are the one begging to MHF so that you all can earn a living to survive. Dependent on MHF. Now MHF has money many of the 102 will be hanging in MHF like vultures to see if can make money.
I have my own work...if i do lending or business, it is a better living than most of the 102. I am proud of myself.
Lick My Foot 102