Can the badminton eco-system be transformed under Zafrul?

AS I stepped into the hotel hosting the prestigious National Sports Awards for the year 2024 in Subang last Tuesday, I bumped into Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidullah Sanusi, president of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF).

I did not introduce myself as a journalist. Instead, I dropped my sister-in-law’s name, Yusniza.

To break the ice, I told him Yusniza was his batch mate at the British Canada Top Universities (BCTU) programme more than 30 years ago.

Much to my surprise, Akhramsyah remembered Yusniza, or just Kak Ja to me.

“Oh yes, she was a student of Sekolah Tun Fatimah. She was my deputy for the dinner committee,” Akhramsyah recalled.

A BCTU batch mate of theirs now happens to be the president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz was elected as the 13th BAM president last week.

As an avid sports fan, Kak Ja who is a doctor at the Kulim Hospital, had been enthusiastically looking forward to Zafrul’s election.

“We know badminton resonates well among Malaysians. Let us see what he can offer,” said Kak Ja in one of our discussions.

Throughout history, BAM have been presided over by a myriad of characters – beginning with Ipoh-based lawyer, John L. Woods, who founded the association in November 1934.

As the 13th president, Zafrul is not the first Cabinet Minister to hold the post.

The distinction went to Tan Sri Khir Johari, the longest-serving BAM president from 1961 to 1985.

In retrospect, the amateur years between 1949 and 1957 were considered the golden era of Malayan badminton when Wong Peng Soon and Co brought home three Thomas Cups in 1949, 1952 and 1955 and dominated the All-England championships.

But it was only in 1967 that Malaysia regained the Thomas Cup, with the late Khir, affectionately called Pak Khir, at the helm of BAM.

In August 1985, the late Tan Sri Elyas Omar succeeded Pak Khir and almost immediately launched the Thomas Cup-Uber Cup-Olympic Games or TUO Project in 1986. It bore fruition with the 1992 Thomas Cup victory, delivered exactly 33 years three days ago.

The game changer was the hiring of Chinese coaches, beginning with Fang Kaixiang who became the first chief coach of the project squad.

Elyas was a hands-on president. Once, Elyas recalled Kaixiang’s reluctance to utilise Misbun Sidek as the first singles ahead of the 1988 Thomas Cup semi-finals against Indonesia.

Elyas’ opinion prevailed and Malaysia entered the final, the country’s first since 1976, but lost to China.

But a mental barrier had been broken. Beating Indonesia was a giant step towards 1992, duly delivered before a partisan crowd at Stadium Negara.

Corporate captain, Nadzmi, spent 13 years as the president from 2000 to 2013, with no major titles to show, except the Asian Games gold medal through Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. Central to Nadzmi’s management style was the kaizen approach or continuous improvement in his quest to raise Malaysia’s standards in the international arena.

Zafrul has succeeded Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, a president who openly urged the national body to re-examine their approach to governance, development and financial management.

BAM, with 28 administrative staff, 21 coaches and 10 sports scientists managing 41 junior players and 64 senior shuttlers, is at a pivotal juncture.

A thorough review of BAM’s core operational areas is being conducted, no doubt, but like many custodians of traditionally popular sports in Malaysia, BAM are in an existential crisis.

Do they stick to the present structure of committee-based decision-makers amongst the voluntary elected officials to chart the organisation’s fortunes and risk being obsolete or leave it to a management-based full-time professionals to drive through a new eco-system that promotes club-based system, key performance indicators and periodical targets?

If Zafrul wishes to revamp the eco-system, he may have to compel his council members to agree to amendments to the BAM constitution, which shall allow an overhaul of the present structure.

By empowering a management-based administration run by professionals headed by a chief executive and aided by the likes of a commercial director, communications director and competitions director, badminton may be able to attract a larger pool of the Gen Alpha to participate.

BAM may then be able to shift the burden of producing players to the schools, or independent clubs or academies and instead focus on creating competitions at grassroots and elite level and developing human capital.

Best of luck to Zafrul. Oh yeah, Yusniza sends her warmest regards!