Meetings, paperwork and entertaining WhatsApp messages, instead of grassroots programmes, keep athletics officials busy ahead of Malaysia Athletics polls

Officials in the Malaysian athletics scene have been bogged down with meetings, paperwork, and entertaining WhatsApp messages ahead of an upcoming election, instead of focusing on the progress of the sport, especially at the grassroots.

As Malaysia Athletics, the nation’s athletics body, holds its annual general meeting on June 15 to elect new office bearers, officials from various state bodies said they have been kept busy attending “meetings”.

Their phones have also been buzzing with certain quarters questioning the intentions of those lobbying to secure positions, despite the lack of progress in athletics in their respective states and districts.

One top official asked how a supposedly “caretaker body” could still carry out council and disciplinary committee meetings.

“When the government calls for a general election, a caretaker government is in place, and it doesn’t make major decisions,” said the official from one of the national body’s affiliates.

“How can the present set of officials in Malaysia Athletics hold meetings to decide the fate of one of the candidates running for president, especially when it had announced the candidates for the top post on June 3? If there were disciplinary breaches, why only act now?”

Four candidates will contest for the presidency. The four are incumbent Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Perlis), Datuk Wira Mark Ling (Negeri Sembilan), Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh (Terengganu), and Datuk Karim Ibrahim (Perak). Shahidan received four nominations, while Ling received two. Karim and Wan Hisham received one nomination each.

Certain quarters are questioning Karim’s eligibility to contest for the top post. The Perak Athletics Association official had served in the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Council before he was removed in 2018. In a statement that year, the IAAF said Karim was deemed “not eligible – within the meaning of the IAAF Constitution and IAAF Vetting Rules – to hold office as a Council Member.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the decision in 2019.

The IAAF is now known as World Athletics. Twentytwo13 has reached out to the international governing body to find out if Karim is eligible to contest in the upcoming election.

There is also an issue regarding the Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletics Association (FTKLAA).

When Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) changed its name to Malaysia Athletics in January, it also amended its constitution. The amendment requires the three Federal Territory associations – Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan – to merge under one umbrella body.

FTKLAA was caught unawares and had submitted an appeal to Malaysia Athletics, the Sports Commissioner’s Office, and to the Youth and Sports Ministry, requesting more time to set up a new association. It is understood FTKLAA has not heard from any party since.

Selangor Athletics Association is also in a fix, as six of its affiliates – Petaling, Klang, Hulu Selangor, Sepang, Kuala Langat, and Hulu Langat – held an extraordinary general meeting on June 9 following alleged “procedural deficiencies during the association’s April 26 AGM.”

This was after Datuk SM Muthu’s nomination to run for Malaysia Athletics presidency was rejected by Selangor Athletics Association president, Nurhayati Karim. Muthu, who is president of the Petaling Athletics Association, had previously served the national body as its president.

Malaysia Athletics is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon. It remains unclear why the national body wants to meet the press.