KUALA LUMPUR – Will the Malaysian Electronic Sports Federation (MESF) be replaced? According to a source within the fraternity, the establishment of a new e-sports national body is in the works to replace the current federation.
The source told The Vibes that this new federation will be up and running soon.
“Currently, the MESF claims to be the governing body for e-sports in the country, but they are not even recognised by the OCM.
“They need to be a member associate of OCM, and only then the athletes under MESF will be able to participate in multi-event sports such as the SEA Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and the Olympics,” said the source, who sought anonymity.
Speaking to The Vibes, an insider within the Malaysian e-sports circle said the decision to form a new e-sports governing body in Malaysia was due to MESF’s poor governance.
It was understood that MESF has not been efficient in their process of applying for funding, which has left athletes preparing for tournaments out of their own pocket.
“The NSC allocated the funds ahead of time for tournaments such as the Vietnam SEA Games and the Commonwealth E-sports Championships, which took place this year.
“But MESF was slow in their application for the allocated budget. They never cleared their previous claims and expenses, and did not submit a proper statement of accounts to the NSC,” said the insider.
An association needs to submit a statement of accounts to the NSC on spending during tournaments, which should tally up with the financial allocation given – only then will the NSC be able to provide further financial allocation for the following competition.
“Because MESF delayed the process of applying for the budget, it jeopardised the athletes’ preparations for the Commonwealth E-sports Championships…there were not enough funds to send the athletes to Birmingham.
“(This) led to the president of MESF, Datuk Ananth S. Nathan, being forced to fork out (funds) from his pocket as the last resort to send the athletes,” said the insider.
Malaysia took home three gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth E-sports Championships. They won the eFootball event and both the men’s and women’s Dota 2 categories.
However, the insider added that the gold medal winning teams have yet to be rewarded for their achievements in Birmingham. – The Vibes, October 19, 2022
