* Tengku Abdullah unhappy with the present state of affairs in MHC
* Ticks off power crazy officials as ‘childish’
* New nominations for MHC council to be called
The much awaited Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Annual General Meeting on Friday (Feb 13) did not materialise but incumbent president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in his short address to the delegates lambasted certain “power seekers” who have tarnished the hockey body.
And the present state of affairs of MHC has certainly not gone down well with the Pahang Crown Prince who will not seek re-election at the AGM after taking over as the president of the Asian Hockey Federation following the demise of Sultan Azlan Shah on May last year.
However, the sports loving Tengku Abdullah, who is also the president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), made it clear that he wants to hand over the reins in a smooth manner and to the right candidate to helm the national body.
Friday’s AGM at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur was called off after the delegates unanimously agreed to postpone the AGM to a later date to put the house in order first. Certain power seekers who desperately want to move up the ladder questioned the Sports Commissioner’s decision to declare the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Johor Bahru on Oct 13 as “null and void” as it did not have the quorum.
However, newly appointed Sports Commissioner Datuk Zaiton Othman said the MHC can proceed with the AGM by using the old constitution. This was hotly questioned by incumbent senior vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad of Malacca who wanted to challenge incumbent deputy president Puan Sri Raja Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah for the number two post.
The old constitution does not allow an “open contest” for the deputy president’s post as it is reserved for women’s hockey.
A very disturbed Tengku Abdullah said new nominations for the MHC council will be called after the present council meets on March 1 to make the necessary amendments to the constitution before the AGM can be held sometime in May. With the cancellation of the scheduled AGM on Friday the present line up of officer bearers will remain status quo.
To put a stop to the present “mess” Tengku Abdullah also put a gag order on officials from giving statements to the media. Nur Azmi and MHC secretary general Datuk Johari Abdul Aziz have made several statements to the media in regard to the constitution in the run-up to the AGM.
Nur Azmi had even stated that he will not hesitate to take the matter to the court if the old constitution is used in the AGM.
“I am sad with the present state of affairs in the MHC. It is disappointing. Our reputation has been tarnished,” said Tengku Abdullah, who had virtually handpicked Dato’ Sri Subahan Kamal, the incumbent Selangor Hockey Association president, as the man to take over as the new MHC president.
In fact, Subahan, a former lawmaker and now a well known businessman had won the post with overwhelming support. There were no other nominations for the hot seat when nominations closed.
Under the old constitution there are 12 vice-presidents and 16 committee members. The secretary general and treasurer are appointed by the president.
