PETALING JAYA: Rahim Abdullah was known as a winger who is strong enough to handle tough tackling challenges.
Former teammate and 1972 Malaysian Olympics team goalkeeper Wong Kam Fook said this about Rahim, who passed away yesterday at the age of 77.
Rahim, who was also a former police officer, represented the country in several international tournaments, including the Merdeka Tournament, the South Vietnam Independence Cup, the Jakarta Anniversary Tournament, and the 1972 Munich Olympics.
His only international trophy was in 1973 when he helped Malaysia lift the Merdeka Tournament.
As for his club career, he played for clubs like Penang, Perak and Selangor from 1966-1975.
Throughout his career, Rahim won the Malaysia Cup five times, once with Perak in 1970 and four times (1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975) with Selangor.
Kam Fook, who won the Malaysia Cup with him in 1970, said Rahim was someone who was calm and handled his responsibilities well.
“The only time I trained with him regularly was when he played for Perak in 1970 before moving to Selangor the next year.
“He was an easygoing guy off the field,” said the 76-year-old Kam Fook.
“As for the 1972 Olympics team, we were blessed with so many talents like Namat (Abdullah) and M. Chandran.
“Rahim was a nippy right winger, always having to evade tough tackling challenges. He was small but had a really strong heart.
“He was fast as well. Those are my memories of him.”
