PETALING JAYA: Former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad passed away at the age of 75 on Monday (April 14).
Mazlan had passed away at the University Malaya Medical Centre after suffering from stroke.
Mazlan was at the helm of the NSC from 1993, and held the position for 12 years as the fifth director general.
He was also the 2001 SEA Games chef de mission, as well as serving as an office bearer with the Selangor Cycling Association, Kuala Lumpur Cycling Association, and Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF).
Former NSC DG Datuk Ahmad Shapawi reflected on his time under Mazlan, sharing his condolences with the sporting freternity that has lost an impactful and reputed leader.
"I’m very proud to have been under him (Mazlan) and trained by him. It’s a very sad loss.
"He was the one who chose me to be in the NSC, shaping me to be right for the role. I’m going to miss him a lot.
"He was the architect behind the high-performance department in the council, he changed everyone's mindset and made sure more sports had training centres," said Shapawi.
Mazlan was also behind Jaya ‘98, the comprehensive plan launched five years before that which allowed Malaysia to pick up 10 gold medals as hosts of KL ‘98.
"Mazlan also started other plans such as Gemilang 2001, Programme 2001 for the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, and he was the chef de mission for that edition of the games as well," Shapawi added.
