KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has brought up plans to form a separation between the governing body and the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
Speaking at a press conference after the association’s council meeting and annual general meeting (AGM) at Tropicana Golf and Country Resort in Petaling Jaya today, BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said it is time for a change in structure.
“There will be a separation of BAM as the governing body and Petronas ABM as the high-performance centre.
“It is time that the performance of coaches, directors, and players need to be judged and evaluated by professionals.
“We will leave it to the professionals to run the high-performance centre,” he said.
He says this way, potential sponsors can approach the ABM directly and have the opportunity to place representatives on the board and standing committees.
“We will have further discussions with Petronas as they are our main sponsors.
“We will also try to leverage on Petronas’ experience in high-performance sports to ensure that the environment will be based on performance and latest technology in sports equipment,” he added.
Norza said that the idea to form the separation was primarily his idea and was received well among the council members during the meeting.
He said that BAM will stick to its core business, which is to act as the governing body of the sports in the country and focus on the development of badminton among the states.
“We will enhance and strengthen the development of badminton at the state level to ensure that the talent pool will be expanded.
“We will try to get more monetary allocations to the states to allow them to focus on the pipeline towards sending more players to the high-performance centre,” Norza said.
Meanwhile, he announced that BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh will be team manager for the Malaysian contingent heading to Thailand for the 2022 Thomas and Uber Cup.
For the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games, Sabah BA president Janih Bangud was appointed team manager, while Penang BA president Datuk Kah Kau Kiat will be team manager for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Norza also said that both the Malaysian Open and Malaysian Masters this year will be taking place at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. – The Vibes, April 24, 2022.
