PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) congress has unanimously agreed to adopt the sweeping statute changes proposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), marking a moment in the governance overhaul of Malaysian football.
All 18 members present at Thursday’s extraordinary congress (June 3) voted in favour of the new statutes, which comprise 94 articles, 11 of them entirely new, after a series of debates on specific provisions.
The vote was not without contention.
Selangor Football Association deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar raised objections over several articles and initially pushed back against the en bloc adoption of the statute, insisting that certain provisions be examined individually by the delegates before a decision was made.
He also highlighted compliance concerns with the Sports Development Act 1997, questioning whether clubs and future members would be required to amend their own constitutions to align with the new FAM statute.
Clarifications provided by the AFC addressed his concerns, and Selangor eventually agreed to support the changes.
The most contentious debate centred on Article 38, which proposes that the Malaysian Football League (MFL) president be automatically designated as FAM’s second vice-president, effectively giving the MFL leader a green lane into the top leadership structure.
Shahril argued that all three vice-presidential posts should be contested through a proper democratic process and questioned the justification for giving the MFL president an automatic pathway to a FAM leadership position.
He also raised a legal concern under Article 79, pointing out that the MFL is a private company whose president is appointed by its shareholders. Allowing an external body such as FAM to influence or determine the MFL presidency, he argued, would conflict with the Companies Act and undermine the MFL’s independent governance structure.
But AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul had an explanation for it.
"MFL is a company. The shareholders decide. You cannot let another body appoint or influence who leads it," he said.
"We should be working together with the main body, not operating in parallel.”
Despite the debate, all members voted in support of the MFL-related provisions, and the congress agreed to proceed article by article on the more contentious clauses before arriving at a final consensus.
The adopted statutes align FAM with international governance standards set by FIFA and the AFC, and are expected to form the backbone of reformed leadership structures ahead of the upcoming FAM elections.
