Opportunity to overcome institutional inertia in Sarawak football

IN resuscitating Sarawak football, one cannot help but mention the name of Datuk Haji Mohamad Taha Ariffin.

Although the former deputy State Secretary of Sarawak had passed away in 2007, his name is still being mentioned in high esteem by purveyors of the game.

Upon his return from the United Kingdom after obtaining his law degree in 1973, Taha was tasked to revamp the Sarawak Amateur Football Association (SAFA) which hitherto had enjoyed patronage from business tycoon, Datuk Amar Wee Hood Teck.

A soft-spoken man who brooked no nonsense, Taha rewrote the constitution, changed its name to FA of Sarawak (FAS) and overhauled the management to steer the body out of troubled waters.

Under Taha’s able stewardship – first as the secretary, then deputy president and later president – Sarawak’s fortunes were transformed, though the process took time.

Two coaches – Mohamad Che Su from 1984-1987 and later Awang Mahyan Awang Mohamad in 1988-1989 – laid down the stones of a respectable unit.

Awang Mahyan’s battle-cry Ngap Sayot, which literally means bite the opponent’s legs, was adopted by the team and it resonated with the crowd.

Three years after Mahyan led the team to an unprecedented semi-final appearance in 1988, Taha launched Project ’93, with the aim of winning one of the three titles on offer – the First Division title, the FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup.

With Englishman Alan Vest investing in three honest professionals John Hunter, Jeff Curran and David Evans, allied with local talent, Sarawak won a number of silverwares, namely the 1992 FA Cup, the 1997 Premier league title and the 1998 Charity Shield.

Under Jalil Ramli, they came close to lifting the Malaysia Cup, but lost to Brunei in 1999.

The same year, Sarawak became the first Borneo team to represent Malaysia in the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup before being bundled out by Kashima Antlers of Japan, fortified by Masashi Motoyama, who eventually joined Kelantan United in 2021.

Sarawak boasted homegrown talents Herman Bulang, Sazali Mohamed Ramli, Mohd Ali Sapiee, lbrahim Mantali, Affendi Joll, Zapri Manai, Roslan Ismail and Dhalan Matussin, who were later joined by Ramos and Ramles Sari, Affendi Julaihi and Bobby Pian.

Bobby even enjoyed the distinction as the first Kelabit to be captain of the national team on two occasions – the 4-3 win over Palestine in the 2001 pre-World Cup in Hong Kong and the 2-1 defeat to Hong Kong in Doha, Qatar, in the second leg.

With Taha taking a backseat due to age and other commitments before his demise, Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi and Datuk Sudarsono Osman took turns to preside over FAS with little success before outgoing president, Datuk Posa Majais, assumed the reins in 2017.

Under Posa’s rule, Sarawak suffered an identity crisis, as he was also president of Sarawak United, who has been booted out of the Super League this upcoming season due to unpaid salaries.

Now, with the FAS Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled in Sarikei tomorrow, FAS are again confronted with the issue of finding a new leader, benefactor and philanthropist all rolled into one.

The deadline of nominations closed last week and surprisingly, the only candidate for the presidency is former FA of Malaysia (FAM) assistant general secretary, Abang Zulkarnain Abang Abdurahman.

At the height of Sarawak’s resurgence, he was executive secretary of FAS in 1988, being exposed first hand to Taha’s leadership style.

At national level, Zulkarnain was greatly influenced by administrator-extraordinaire, Datuk Seri Paul Mony Samuel.

One of very few licensed match commissioners in Malaysia, Zulkarnain has to convince FAS’ 14 affiliates to focus on the three pillars of the game – governance, competition and development – to start unearthing unpolished gems in the largest state in Malaysia.

As the nation’s longest serving football official still active in the industry, Zulkarnain is now well-poised to push for reforms to overcome the institutional inertia in Sarawak football.

Instead of biting his opponents’ legs, Zulkarnain will have to break a leg!