FIM STILL RECOGNISE AAM
World body stand by troubled association as custodians for two-wheel sports
WHILE the Sports Commissioner’s Office (SCO) has put the brakes on the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM), the latter remain defiant in defending their position as the custodians of Malaysian motorsports.
AAM chairman Tunku Mudzaffar Tunku Mustapha stands his ground that SCO's de-registration of AAM was not carried out in a fair manner.
“AAM had a number of meetings with the SCO to enlighten and discuss the case even earlier before SCO issued the de-registration,” said Tunku Mudzaffar on Friday.
“AAM received the letter of deregistration on Nov 30, 2018. The provision in the Sports Development Act 1997 provides (room for) an appeal within 30 days.
“We submitted (an appeal) within the stipulated period and despite three letters to the accord requesting for a meeting with the (Sports) Minister, no response was received.
“We feel that we were not granted an opportunity of fair hearing. As it stands, our appeal remains unheard till today.”
Tunku Mudzaffar stressed that the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) still recognise AAM as the valid authority on two-wheel motorsports.
“FIM referred the letter of the de-registration to us and we replied that we may take a certain course of action to challenge that decision (de-registration),” added Tunku Mudzaffar.
“The SCO recently issued a notice to all motorsport practitioners (stating that) the AAM is not permitted to sanction motorsport events.
“But by the rules of the world body, the sole authority in the country is still under the jurisdiction of AAM.
“Motorsport sanctioning still rests on AAM. It’s a delicate issue here.
“In other words, a body not appointed by the world body cannot sanction nor issue licences for any events in a given country.”
Tunku Mudzaffar said the deregistration of AAM had also temporarily halted their investigation into the death of Cub Prix rider Mohd Hafiz Nor Azman. Hafiz tragically died in an accident during the final round of the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship in December.
“AAM held back the investigation upon being de-registered, so as not to complicate legal issues. The investigation will be done in due course.”
Contradicting statements from AAM and SCO have caused some confusion and anxiety in the motorsports community.
On Tuesday, SCO confirmed they had de-registered AAM for failing to submit various required documents, including general meeting minutes, list of committee members, audited financial statements, report of annual activities and list of members since 2016.
SCO also confirmed that that AAM had made an appeal to Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman which was rejected.
SCO, however, has assured that everything is under control and that it is business as usual.
On Friday, SCO released a second statement, stating that a pro-tem committee is being formed to govern Malaysian motorsports until a new official body is confirmed.
The pro-tem committee will assume the responsibility of being the national sports authority in activities related to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and FIM.
Meanwhile, FIA have confirmed receiving a copy of the SCO letter. The world body stated they had taken note that AAM are no longer recognised by the Malaysian authorities for the management of motorsports at national level, and that AAM are not authorised to represent the country at international level.