KUALA LUMPUR – Ousted Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk SM Muthu accepts his defeat in the MAF election and will not vie for the top post again.
However, he still has one important task to settle in athletics – to revive the deregistered Selangor Athletics Association (SAA).
“The association was deregistered during my tenure, so I need to settle it properly and hand it over to the next committee. We have submitted all the reports required to the Sports Commissioner's Office (SCO) and are waiting for their reply.
“I hope the SAA problem can be fixed so that Selangor athletics can be back in operation soon. After that I leave it to the affiliates to decide on the next leader,” he told Bernama today.
On April 18, Sports Commissioner Ibrahim Mohd Yusof confirmed that SAA had been deregistered after going through months of internal crisis and power struggle between the camps of Muthu and Nur Hayati Karim.
In the MAF election yesterday, Muthu lost the president’s post to Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim for the 2022-2025 term in a straight fight.
Shahidan polled 20 votes to win by a four-vote majority. The third candidate, Nur Hayati, withdrew from the contest.
Muthu took the post in 2019 after defeating his friend-turned-nemesis Karim Ibrahim. However, his relationship with national athletes and coaches had not been smooth recently, and the situation was further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reacting to the defeat, the businessman said he accepts the affiliates’ decision for change in the MAF, and wants to utilise his time for family and personal matters after this.
“I’m already 69 years old and it’s good to make way for others. There is no need for the defeated to make a comeback. Before this I wanted to hold the post for only one more term, but has now decided not to contest again,” he said.
Asked for his parting advice, Muthu said athletes should be disciplined, follow the programmes planned by the association and always give their best for the country. – Bernama, June 13, 2022
