STATES TOLD TO BUCK UP

BAM ready to ‘blacklist’ unproductive associations

STATE badminton associations (BAs) who have not been active in developing good players, risk being “blacklisted.” This means these states cannot expect strong financial support from the BA of Malaysia (BAM), especially at a time when Malaysian sports are facing budget cuts by the Sports Ministry.

This was the stand of BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria in response to an NST report that not many state coaches were seen at last week’s National championships in Ipoh.

“Of course we have several states like Selangor, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur who are always on the forefront when it comes to producing more players but I wouldn’t say the rest are not doing their job,” said Norza yesterday.

“Yes, they will have to buck up, especially with the budget cuts now, we have to be more prudent (in disbursing funds to state BAs). We (BAM) cannot be spending money on states that are not producing enough (good) players.

“We try to help by moving competitions around to different states but they cannot be solely dependent on us. In fact, we also pay the state coaches.”

The issue was first brought to light when several former national players questioned the standards of the recent National Championships.

This year, the national meet attracted a total of only 209 entries (men’s, women’s and mixed doubles), showing a sharp drop in participation from the previous two editions (260 in 2018 and 242 in 2017).

It is also learnt that there were more players and coaches from private clubs as compared to those from the state BAs.

“Remember that when we released several of our top players who decided to turn professional, we spoke about working with the clubs to see how we can improve the sport.

“You must understand that the clubs must also show they have proper grassroots programmes, the right infrastructure and facilities.

“That is why on March 14, BAM, together with (Sports Minister) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and (Deputy Sports Minister) Steven Sim will be meeting representatives from the clubs.

“The ministry has made it clear on working together to see how we can all move forward,” added Norza.

It is learnt that BAM’s total expenditure amounts to about RM28-30 million a year.

Of that, about RM5 million is allocated for state BAs’ development programmes and secretaries’ remuneration.