Tunku Majid donates RM27,500 for hockey

JOHOR BARU: Sports-loving Johor prince Tunku Abdul Majid Idris Sultan Iskandar, determined to make Johor a hockey powerhouse in the country, has donated RM27,500 for the cause. 

The Johor Hockey Association (JHA) president dug into his own pockets to hand out RM5,000 each to the district hockey associations of Johor Baru, Batu Pahat, Kluang and Pontian while Muar, Segamat and Mersing receieved RM2,500 each. 

Tunku Majid, who is also the Tunku Bendahara of Johor, simply wants each district to have more “hockey activities” with the main aim of tapping young talent through competitive hockey. 

The personal donations also came with a strong message to “put the money to good use” and Tunku Majid wants to promote the game aggressively in the districts as Johor have plenty of young hockey talent. 

TunkuMajidhandingover acheque forRM5,000 toJohor BaruDistrictHockeyAssociationpresidentA. ParamjitSingh whileJHA deputypresidentA.HarbhajanSinghlooks on.

“I want the money to be sued wisely. The districts can use the money to organise leagues and knockout tournaments. It is my wish to see Johor become a hockey powerhouse,” said Tunku Majid. 

“We can only achieve success if we have good development programmes in the districts. I believe this can be done without much problems. There are enough dedicated hockey officials to run the show.” 

Tunku Majid is especially pleased with Pontian. The district now has a new hockey pitch costing RM600,000.  

He gave special instructions to Pontian hockey officials to run a league with at least one match played each week. 

But, in the same breath, Tunku Majid expressed unhappiness with the hockey field in Batu Pahat, which was left in a mess after a function held by the Batu Pahat District Council. 

Kota Tinggi was the odd district left out of the donation list as it has yet to get a hockey pitch, but JHA secretary Majid Manjit Abdullah said that plans for a new hockey pitch were in the pipeline and in the final stages. 

Tunku Majid has taken it upon himself to keep young talent in the state.  

He has enlisted the help of the Johor Baru City Council and Syarikat Air Johor to employ hockey players. 

“We must keep our young hockey players in the state by giving them decent jobs,” added Tunku Majid.