MHC chief stays clear of controversy
THE Malaysian national men’s hockey squad may have qualified for next year’s World Cup, but all that shine is overshadowed by the controversy over the sudden resignation of Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice president and coaching chairman Datuk Ow Soon Kooi.
MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal did not want to be drawn into the matter, especially in regard to issues raised by Soon Kooi.
Subahan, when met yesterday at the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) sponsorship event for the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games and 9th Para Asean Games (KL2017), refused to be interviewed by the media.
“I’m sorry but I have other matters to look into,” he said.
On Wednesday, Soon Kooi revealed a number of reasons that allegedly made him resign abruptly.
According to him, there were three main contributing factors.
Firstly, it was due to technical director Terry Walsh’s inconsistent stand on the national team’s poor penalty corner execution in the World League second round in Dhaka, Bangladesh and at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh.
Soon Kooi also questioned the health of Joel Van Huizen (the son of national hockey coach Stephen Van Huizen), who collapsed twice at the World Hockey League in Dhaka, but was still named to the national squad.
Soon Kooi also expressed his disappointment over the MHC’s decision to hire Paul Lissek as consultant to the national indoor hockey squad for the Sea Games this month, and paying him six times more than the agreed sum.
Soon Koi’s position has since been taken over by former international Soon Mustafa.
Meanwhile, TNB became a gold sponsor of the KL Sea Games when it pledged a sum of between RM3 million and RM7.5 million in cash and kind (generators and other equipment) to become the Official Energy Partner for the biennial Games.
TNB also handed RM52,000 in incentives to the national men’s hockey squad that qualified for the 2018 World Cup in India.
The sponsorship event, held at the TNB Sports Complex Multipurpose Hall in Kuala Lumpur, saw the Malaysian Organising Committee for the Games (MASOC) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong inking an agreement with TNB chief corporate officer Datuk Rosland Abdul Rahman, which was witnessed by Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
The total sponsorship for KL2017 has surpassed the RM100 million mark. Aida Adilah Mat