Raja Ahmad, a man who made Perak great
FORMER FAM vice-president and Perak football team manager Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar died yesterday at the age of 69 after leaving an indelible mark on the local football scene.
From the moment he took charge of Perak in 1989 at the advent of Semi-Pro football, Raja Ahmad never shirked in giving his opinion on the sport, with his forcefulness even leading to a three-year ban from football.
But the man who revived Perak’s on-pitch fortunes remained an inspiring figure among players, coaches and players until he decided to part with the Perak FA in 2000.
After more than a decade of mediocrity, it was Raja Ahmad who laid the foundation for Perak to win the inaugural FA Cup in 1990 which ended a 20-year barren run.
Datuk M. Karathu, the Perak coach at the time, recalled Raja Ahmad’s strong leadership and no-nonsense approach after Perak were forced to begin the SemiPro era in the second division.
“After the 1988 season ended when Perak failed to qualify for the Malaysia Cup, Raja Ahmad was appointed the team manager and made me the coach,” Karathu told Timesport yesterday.
“I agreed on condition that he gave me control of playing decisions while he handled the rest. It was a good partnership and in 1989, Perak won promotion to the first division and also reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
“Then in 1990 we won the FA Cup for our first major trophy after a long period without success and we were also third in the first division and again reached the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.
“This would not have been possible without Raja Ahmad’s passion for the game and his leadership. He had a very strong interest in football and had good connections outside football which helped to bring funding for the team.”
Perak returned to the FA Cup final in 1991 but a 1-0 defeat to Selangor prompted an outburst by Raja Ahmad against FAM over the standard of the referees and this led to a three-year ban.
Raja Ahmad returned to become Perak FA deputy president following the end of his suspension and set about trying to win another trophy.
After luring German coach Karl-Heinz Weigang to Ipoh, Perak reached the Malaysia Cup final in 1998 for the first time in 24 years and emerged champions with a penalty shoot-out win over Terengganu.
But at the end of the 2000 season, Raja Ahmad announced his intention to step down from the Perak FA to focus on his duties as FAM vice-president and the various committees he chaired.
However, the lure of being involved with club football saw Raja Ahmad agree to become an adviser to the Kelantan Tenaga Nasional team who were playing in the second-tier in 2002.
Messages of condolences poured in from all levels of football, including FAM and Perak FA, on Raja Ahmad’s passing due to a lung infection and low blood pressure in Ipoh yesterday morning.