As MHF progresses, an official website is imminent.

In this modern age, information flow is generally on a real time basis. As things happen it is reported and this in a way provides the standard for such services. Waiting for days for the main media to pick up the news or to remain at the mercy of bloggers would mean that the entities concerned do not appreciate or understand the importance of timely information. If that is not the case then they are in circumstances where the implementation of such information technological system is caught in a web of uncertainties. Whichever way it obviously would not flavour the organisation with sufficient creditability, as prima facie it would give the impression that the set-up is caught in a time warp with people from the "dinosaur" era.

Having stated that it must be recognised that since the TM has taken over as President of MHF, in the last 2 years MHF has been relatively busy. The addition of a hard working General Manager has helped the administration to get things moving and endeavoured to service the areas that need attention. There is no doubt that there has been a significant improvement in the overall administration.

The area that needs urgent attention is the aspect of communication. Constitutionally, i am sure the Management Committee is keeping the Affiliates well informed through their correspondence, meetings like Council and so forth. The area in which i feel there exists a vacuum is with the public. Unless the public have their ears fixed to the ground, more often they are not informed of the developments in MHF. The danger of having "ears on the ground" is that sometimes the news can get distorted particularly when there is no official version on the matter. This permits speculation and as a result rumours which themselves can be damaging. More often it can encourage in-fighting.

What surprises me is our country has gone in a big way with information technology. There is the Multimedia Super Corridor with Cyberjaya at the heart of it. We have Multi Media University and numerous other institutions offering various IT courses. Yet ! it would seem IT has not got the attention of Malaysian sports. Our hockey stadiums do not have wireless links and therefore in modern hockey Malaysia is deprived of an essential tool in perfecting the game strategy with our opponents. As we build 1st class facilities we seem to have forgetten the fundamentals of equipping them with the latest state of the art technology. Yes ! we have the "shell" but not the things that make the "shell" great.

In not having such facilities for Malaysian hockey, we are denying our officials, coaches and players to further enhance themselves with technology. As the sporting world progresses with the latest technology, it would seem we have stagnated. Intervention by video reference has come into hockey and cricket. We have world class grounds for these games, yet not the latest technology for video reference. The saddest aspect is nothing concrete is being done. Obviously, the argument would be cost. I wonder whether such an excuse can be prolonged if we are serious of wanting to be of world standard.

Malaysian hockey of late has been busy with the 1MAS Hoki programme, Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy, Tun Razak tournament, Junior Hockey League, Sukma, Project 2013 tour to Europe, Senior team tour to China, National and Asian Indoor hockey tournament. With all these happening the information to the public is limited in the absences of a MHF website. It would seem that MHF had entered into an MOU to implement the website some 12 to 15 months ago, yet there seems to be no sign of its appearance. MHF can claim a lot of things but if it does not have an official website which is regularly updated, then it cannot claim to be in the forefront of the latest development in hockey.

What surprises me is the absence of a key MHF official taking responsibility in its implementation. MHF must learn the art of communicating through its website, thereby cutting off the "hide and seek" that is being played by various officials to the detriment of Malaysian hockey. Indeed a progressive National Sports Association would create a hierarchy security access for each Committee in MHF to update their respective fields. For example for the Senior team on tour to China, an appropriate format be created in the website for the national coach to daily update the team's activities in China. It is a simple process that can become a habitual exercise if we get used to it.

Unfortunately, it is the simple and important things in life that seem to be forgotten. Such being the case it gives rise to a vacuum and the responsibility of accountability through a real time process of updating website is left unattended. The fact that instantaneous reporting is brought into the life of coaches and officials itself creates the discipline for responsible accounting. This itself keeps the public updated with hockey information and in a way becomes a major tool for drawing the public to the game.

MHF is doing a lot of things and i have do doubt it is in the best interest of the game. The one thing MHF cannot afford to compromise is a well designed purposeful website reflecting every facet of MHF. If this does not take off, it would only be detrimental to the progressive image of MHF and ultimately Malaysian hockey.