KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has accepted Akademi Badminton Malaysia’s (ABM) chief executive Michelle Chai’s resignation after discussions during their 78th annual general meeting today.
“We have agreed to accept her resignation. However, we believe that she will continue to assist us in the search for a new CEO while serving her notice.
“She admitted that the shoes were too big for her,” said BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
He said that Michelle felt ABM needs a person with sound technical knowledge of the game and management skills to lead it.
Michelle was announced as the new CEO of ABM in October last year. Prior to joining BAM, she had held administrative positions with the Asian Football Confederation and United Arab Emirates Football Association.
Apart from her role in ABM, Michelle is the co-coordinator for the Road to Gold programme together with Stuart Ramalingam.
Her resignation has caused a lot of speculation whether she will also vacate her role in the programme co-chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and Norza.
“Road to Gold is a very important program and Michelle’s task is to assist Stuart. I will recommend to the minister to retain her, so she can continue.
“For us to make changes now will create a disconnect within the committee,” said Norza.
Meanwhile, Michelle reiterated that she was not pressured to resign from her position.
“There is absolutely no pressure from anyone for me to resign.”
Michelle said she feels her resignation will open the pathway for a better candidate to take over at ABM.
“This opportunity now must be given to a better-qualified individual who may have a more positive impact when interacting with our players and coaches,” she added. – The Vibes, May 13, 2023