KUALA LUMPUR − Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said he appreciates the intention of Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) football club owner Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s offer to sponsor the cost of planting new grass at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
“Thank you His Royal Highness Major General Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who decided to sponsor the cost of planting new grass as a gift to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium,” he tweeted.
On Thursday, Tunku Ismail in a statement made on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page said he wanted to sponsor the cost of planting new grass from cow grass to zeon zoysia, the same type of grass used at the Johor Darul Ta’zim FC Sultan Ibrahim Stadium owned by JDT in Iskandar Puteri as a gift to the Harimau Malaya squad.
“I have instructed the JDT management to assist the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) to ensure that the national stadium has a quality field suitable for international football matches,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a posting on social media, JDT said Tunku Ismail had already signed a cheque to proceed with the planting work, adding that an inspection at the national stadium will be held on March 19 before continuing with the final preparations with PSM.
In March last year, it was reported that work to replace the grass for RM10 million was expected to be completed within three months (June 2021), including field maintenance, ventilation systems, drainage systems, artificial lighting as well as training for lawn supervisors.
However, the project failed to launch even though the government had approved the budget.
The stadium has also been used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre since June 21 last year.
Meanwhile, sources from the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) said so far there has not been any black and white agreement between the ministry and TMJ as of noon yesterday.
It is also understood that PSM has yet to decide on the type of grass to be used because it was waiting for a report from a local university on the right type of grass to be planted at the stadium.
“The PSM board will be making a decision on which grass is the most suitable based on scientific evidence gained from the consultants. PSM and KBS don’t want to make a decision made in haste but based on scientific reports to avoid issues related to the pitch in the iconic stadium.
“There are differences of opinions on the cow grass, some are happy, while some aren’t. We also need to look into various aspects, including the purposes of stadium usage − if limit only for football, then PSM’s revenue will largely be affected,” said the source.
The Harimau Malaya team led by Kim Pan-Gon will undergo an eight-day training session starting March 14 to gear up for the upcoming FAS (Football Association of Singapore) Tri-Nations Series 2022 against the Philippines on March 23 and host Singapore (March 26).
The national team will also play in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup qualifier campaign at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium against the 134th ranked team in the world Turkmenistan on June 8, followed by Bahrain (89th) on June 11 and Bangladesh (186th) on June 14. – Bernama, March 12, 2022
