RTG can be successful entity without relying on NSC funding

A QUOTE widely attributed to French philosopher, Voltaire, was often cited by academician-turned-politician-turned sports administrator, Tan Sri Dr Ibrahim Saad, in engaging the Press at the height of his powers.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Dr Ibrahim was fond of citing the quote as a reminder to his detractors that he accepted criticism with grace.

The former Penang deputy chief minister gave the media the assurance, that no matter what we said, he would remain magnanimous, as long as we showed objectivity and offered constructive criticism.

He had no choice all those years ago for Dr Ibrahim was the pseudo-supremo of Malaysian sports at a time when the media did not suffer fools gladly.

In his capacity as the vice-president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Dr Ibrahim assumed the role of the national team manager. He engaged the media in cushioning the impact of intense criticism hurled at the football team helmed by the late Allan Harris.

He was then made the general secretary of FAM in 2005, relinquishing the vice-presidency to take up the post as a salaried chief of the secretariat.

Before that he was also chairman of the Sports Advisory Panel (SAP) appointed by the then Sports Minister, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, who fondly calls Dr Ibrahim “Uncle”.

Following the perceived failure of the Malaysian contingent in the Athens Olympics in 2004, Azalina formed a two-man panel – comprising former Paya Indah Wetlands CEO, Muralee Menon and guess who, Dr Ibrahim!

The duo’s task was to sample the dissatisfactions of Malaysia’s elite athletes who formed the contingent to Athens.

Among the findings were grievances on allowances, centralised training, accommodation, retirement plans, sense of insecurity and diet.

As someone who enjoyed the implicit trust of Azalina, Dr Ibrahim was ultimately made the chairman of the steering committee AsiaComm, basically a committee to usurp the NSC’s erstwhile jurisdiction in managing elite athletes.

Two decades on, we clamour for change in the way we do things, rightfully so. The Road To Gold (RTG) committee, headed by Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and co-chaired by Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, is a great initiative with noble intentions – of creating an environment to facilitate gold medal prospects at the Olympics.

An upgrade from AsiaComm, RTG is restricted to the nation’s creme de la creme – with cycling icon Datuk Azizulhasni Awang as the likeliest gold medal prospect in the Paris Games next year.

Similar to the original AsiaComm, RTG is handled by a football man, MFL CEO, Datuk Stuart Ramalingam.

A week ago, Azizul was scathing in his attack of the NSC, who were accused of inaction in dealing with his numerous requests. His Facebook posting was quickly picked up by the mainstream media and went viral within hours.

In response, Stuart was quoted as saying: “RTG was set up precisely to solve ‘roadblocks’ like this. Unfortunately, some long-standing issues like this case started one and a half years ago between Azizulhasni and NSC, which needed me (the co-ordinator) to obtain the relevant details from various parties to be taken to the committee for consideration.”

Throwing the NSC under the bus is uncharacteristic of a CEO and a commercial expert who is fully aware of optics and perception.

Also, the NSC’s silence on the issue is deafening. Either it is by choice or by instruction, the NSC have the right to defend themselves from any accusation.

Again, it is uncharacteristic of NSC, as their director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail has always been media savvy, much like his predecessors such as Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad, Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz and the late Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong.

In the meantime, I have high hopes of RTG being a runaway success – with the ability of being commercially viable, financially independent and manned by professional managers and sports scientists under the able stewardship of commercial expert Stuart – without using a single sen from NSC’s coffers. And without forgetting Voltaire’s famous quote.