Resetting the button – a matter of timing

IN sports, like business, it is all about timing – whether in the arena or the boardroom.

The appointment of Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad as the fifth director-general of the National Sports Council (NSC) in March 1993, is a case in point.

It came shortly after Malaysia won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 1998, beating Adelaide 40-25 in the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) assembly in Barcelona on July 22, 1992.

Within 10 days, Mazlan, the then deputy DG of NSC, was made the acting DG as Datuk Kamalul Ariffin Abdul Rahim was transferred to the National Padi and Rice Board (LPN).

Amidst speculation that Ahmad Ithnin and Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad were considered for the hotseat, Mazlan was confirmed as the fifth leader of the statutory body in an announcement made by the then Sports Minister, Annuar Musa (Tan Sri) eight months later.

For the powers-that-be, Mazlan ticked all the boxes.

He had the paper qualifications, having obtained his Masters’ degree in Sports Administration and Management from Drake University in Iowa.

He was at that time in his prime, five months shy of his 44th birthday.

Having been seconded to NSC upon his return from the United States in 1983, Mazlan was familiar with the inner workings.

To top it off, Mazlan had served as an office bearer with the Selangor Cycling Association, the Kuala Lumpur Cycling Association and the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). So he understood the NSA’s role in the scheme of things.

By the time Mazlan retired in 2005, NSC had grown into a result-oriented agency, without the work to rule mentality traditionally associated with other government bodies.

The success of Jaya ’98, the comprehensive training plan launched in 1993 that enabled Malaysia to pick up 10 gold medals as hosts of KL ’98, triggered a series of sequels – namely Gemilang 2001, AsiaKom, Kita Juara and Podium.

“For a nation that relied on badminton and weightlifting to produce the medals in previous Commonwealth Games, we had to act fast and think strategically.

“NSC became more aggressive in preparing athletes and recruiting full-time coaches as well as building new infrastructure. We built training centres functional for less popular sports such as weightlifting, diving, shooting, lawn bowls and gymnastics.

“We succeeded in reviving dormant sports bodies by bringing them closer to the masses. For many years weightlifting, artistic gymnastics and diving were missing from the SEA Games but today they have won medals at the Olympics and Commonwealth level, all in a matter of slightly more than a decade,” recalled Mazlan.

Mazlan now belongs to the province of the truly privileged.

In a fitting tribute, the man from Kampung Kesang Tua, Jasin, Malacca, near the Muar border, became the first former DG of NSC to be conferred the Sports Eminent Figure Award, or Tokoh Sukan Negara 2022 in the National Sports Award ceremony last month.

Mazlan, who turns 74 on Aug 23, is the 20th individual to receive the award, since Tunku Abdul Rahman Alhaj was made the inaugural recipient in 1978.

In helming NSC for 12 years, Mazlan had his fair share of critics. Under his watch, NSC, as the funding agency for high-performance sports, was perceived as being authoritarian, prone to making unilateral decisions and stingy. They were also accused of interfering with NSAs’ elections and daily affairs. But Mazlan did not budge.

To set the wheels in motion, ruthless execution was required. NSC’s key performance indicator was medals at the major multi-sports Games.

Despite enjoying the trust of his bosses at the Ministry, Mazlan showed little desire to cling on to his position from the outset. His anointed successor was Rahim Haron who produced the master plan for Jaya ’98. Sadly, the graduate from Australia passed away due to a heart attack in 1994.

Mazlan then groomed the late Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong, by asking the NSC’s director of management to learn the trade by holding the honorary secretary’s post of BA of Malaysia (BAM) in 2001-2002. Mazlan, however, acknowledged the downside of Jaya ’98 was the over-reliance of NSAs on Government funding.

“Jaya ‘98 was suited to the times. Now we need to formulate new thinking,” he said.

With a new DG set to enter the frame next month as a replacement for Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, NSC are poised to push the reset button. Finally.