By Mark Baber
Janaury 8 – Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek has called for a comprehensive study on the proposal to limit the terms of sports association leaders.
Football fans have been pressing for Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (pictured) to resign as he has headed the organisation for the past 28 years.
Ahmad Shabery said: “A comprehensive study is needed and the agreement of the parties involved should be taken into account. A plan to rejuvenate the sports associations would not only have a positive impact on the athletes but the future of sports in Malaysia as well.”
He had been asked to comment on National Sports Council director-general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong’s opinion that terms in office in national sports associations should be limited to 8 years.
Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, deputy president of FAM and a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said the Sultan had “done the job to the best of his ability. He may not be the super President but he has kept us together all this while.”
Asked if he might take over as president, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah who is the fourth child of Sultan Ahmad, said: “I shall not be the candidate. Don’t think I should be the candidate. The call for change is to get a new man. But let’s cross the bridge when we come to it.”
The 82 year old Sultan Ahmad was President of the AFC until 2002 and is the fourth President of the ASEAN Football Federation.
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