The sports commissioner – from the enforcer to the registrar

The Attorney General of Sports. The sheriff. The enforcer.These were some of the terms used to describe the role of the Sports Commissioner, which came into being after the Sports Development Act 1997 was established in January 1998.

The Act, for the uninitiated, was introduced basically to mediate in disputes between sports associations and their affiliates or athletes.

The first Commissioner was Datuk Ahmad Bakri Shabdin, who was also the Sports Ministry’s secretary-general then.

Within seven years, two high-profile national sports associations suffered the full brunt of the Act.

The Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU), now known as Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF), were suspended on Feb 28, 2002. The Malaysian Taekwondo Association (MTA) were de-registered on May 6, 2005.

On both occasions, the Commissioner invoked section 20 (1e) of the Act which states that a sports body can be suspended or deregistered if they hinder the development of the sport in the country.

Datuk Mahamad Zabri Min’s decision in 2002 did not go down well with sympathisers of MAAU, and even drew a response from the then OCM president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, who said the Act and the National Sports Policy were not consistent with one another.

When the late Tan Sri Elyas Omar was made the first full-time Commissioner in 2005, succeeding Datuk Talaat Hussin, he described his function as judge, referee, arbitrator, investigator and even a prosecutor all rolled into one.

The blot in his tenure which lasted until early 2008 was certainly the MTA saga.

MTA were the first national high-performance sports body to be struck off the list since the Act came into force. It was based on MTA’s so-called failure to comply to the Sports Minister’s directives to grant automatic membership and voting rights to the sole proprietorship, or loosely termed as clubs.

Earlier, Elyas issued a show cause letter giving MTA 14 days to explain why the MTA’s registration should not be revoked or suspended.

In retaliation, MTA filed a writ of summons with the High Court, challenging certain provisions in the Act which empower the Commissioner to suspend or revoke a national sports body.

Elyas did not buckle under pressure. Despite the court proceedings, Elyas went on to de-register MTA. The sport suffered for years.

Elyas’ subsequent successors have all preferred to be under the radar by confining themselves to the ambit of the Act and assist the lawfully registered sports bodies to function efficaciously.

They avoid from policing the sports bodies and their administrators.

And with the amendments to the Act made in 2018, Section 24 of the Act allows for the formation of a new sports tribunal, the Sports Disputes Committee (SDC), to manage disputes arising from any member of a sports body or from the sports body itself, which relieves the Commissioner from having to invoke Section 20.

The SDC are now chaired by former OCM secretary general, Datuk Low Beng Choo.

Avid mountain climber Suhardi Alias, with 32 years of experience behind him, was recently announced as the 11th Sports Commissioner.

The former dietitian at the National Sports Institute (NSI) and deputy director-general (development) of National Sports Council (NSC), is not expected to rock the boat.

Suhardi has no mountain to climb as the Commissioner. His role will be restricted to facilitating the process.

Under the Act, there are 103 sports registered, including bridge, tower running, spinning top, tug of war and vovinam.

Instead of frustrating the process, Suhardi is expected to focus on the star rating assessment based on points given for good governance to sports associations registered with the Office.

Exit the Enforcer, enter the Registrar.