KUALA LUMPUR – Who is capable, credible and has the leadership qualities to bring about a better future for Malaysian football?
This is the million-dollar question brewing amongst experts in the football fraternity considering that the FA of Malaysia (FAM) elections will be taking place next month during the 57th FAM Congress.
However, many in the football industry want to see current president, Datuk Hamidin Haji Amin, maintain his position as they believe that nobody else in the fraternity is capable enough to replace him.
In order to defend his post, Hamidin announced earlier that he was willing to be nominated again for the 2021-2025 term. The former-banker-turned-football-administrator became president after replacing HRH Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim in 2018.
According to a football expert, who wishes to remain anonymous, Hamidin is still cleaning up the mess that was left by the old regime and it would be premature to judge his leadership so soon.
The source added that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically hindered Hamidin’s efforts to achieve his targets since he took over in 2018.
“Since sports, especially football has taken a beating from the pandemic, it isn’t easy at the moment to clean up the mess in FAM. As the president of the Malaysian Football League (MFL), he is wearing two hats and it’s never easy to juggle two main portfolios at the same time.
“Many compare Hamidin to Datuk Subahan Kamal, who is the Deputy President of FAM and also the president of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), but it’s unfair to make that comparison because Subahan spends more time in hockey than in football, while Hamidin has to give an equal amount of attention to both FAM and MFL.
“Hamidin needs more time to do what’s needed for Malaysian football. Some people will speak negatively on this because they think they know it all,” said the source.
Meanwhile, FAM vice-president, Datuk S. Sivasundram, said that Hamidin has a hands-on approach to everything that happens in FAM and MFL.
“Hamidin is very committed to football, and for those who know him, he breathes and lives for the game. He started from scratch in FAM and I have never come across a person like him in football administration.
Before presiding over the national body, Hamidin was the former secretary-general of FAM for 5 years from 2013 to 2018.
“For those who do not know Hamidin, he is a warm person, who allows his exco members to speak out during meetings. If he’s offered good suggestions, he will implement it. Hamidin is not a dictator and is loved by all his State affiliates.
“Hamidin is also close to Government officials and has an excellent relationship with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA. This makes it easy for FAM and Malaysian football,” said Sivasundram, who has worked with Hamidin since his Selangor FA days over 25 years ago.
At the same time, Sivasundram added that Hamidin needs to oversee the development of the National Training Complex under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as the FAM headquarters in Putrajaya.
Meanwhile, Selangor Malay Football Association president, Mohd Firdaus Mohd, said that allowing Hamidin to continue as the president of FAM is the right thing to do.
“I am not saying it because I am biased towards him, but if you think about it, who else at this time can do a FAM president’s job better than Hamidin?
“Hamidin also has his pet project – the F30 ─ to accomplish and that will take time because of the crisis we are currently experiencing. One term is never enough for any president of a sports association, especially for Hamidin, who is the first ordinary president,” said Firdaus.
He added that the national team is also doing well at the moment, and there is a strong possibility of them qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup in China.
“This time, we have a good chance to make it on merit,” Firdaus concluded.
The Vibes believes that there are many leaders out there who can lead FAM, but in light of the current situation that Malaysian football finds itself in, Hamidin could be the right person yet again to preside over the national football body.
As The Vibes takes pride in reporting from every side, our hope is that Hamidin will be able to bring about a brighter future for Malaysian football. ─ The Vibes, 4 February, 2021
