Clock’s ticking: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are currently in Bangkok to compete in the Thailand Open, which begins on Tuesday.
PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) insist they will not let any player hold them to ransom as the prolonged contract saga between the national body and women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah continues.
BAM have made it clear that they would not revise the offer extended to the duo, whose contracts expired last December.
While BAM have sealed extensions with all other senior and junior players, Pearly-Thinaah remain the only ones yet to commit. The stand-off has now stretched into its fifth month, with discussions hitting a stalemate.
BAM deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam declined to reveal the exact salary and allowance package offered, but sources indicated that the duo were seeking a lucrative deal worth up to half a million ringgit a year.
Both parties are said to have held multiple discussions, but no agreement has been reached. The next meeting is expected to be the final round of talks, based on BAM’s existing offer.
“As you know, we’ve already tabled our offer. They’re the only ones who’ve yet to sign.
“They keep coming back with different figures, but we don’t want players to hold us to ransom. That must be clear. If not, we’re creating a disease. All the other players negotiated with us, raised their concerns and signed their contracts except these two. I honestly don’t know what more they want,” said Subramaniam.
Pearly-Thinaah are currently in Bangkok to compete in the Thailand Open, which begins on Tuesday.
At the same time, BAM’s annual general meeting yesterday also agreed to promote transparency by making public the salary and allowance scheme for national players under the association.
Subramaniam said the move was appropriate while pointing out that elite athletes in Europe also have their earnings disclosed publicly.
“Some players believe that their earnings should not be disclosed to the public, but this issue was also discussed during the BAM council meeting today.
“The council have agreed that all forms of income should be made transparent.
“Like international footballers whose weekly and monthly salaries are widely known, we may eventually need to adopt the same approach.
“When the time comes, we’ll likely have a discussion with the players first,” he added.
