Abdul Aziz elected BAM deputy president
KUCHING: Sarawak Badminton Association ( SBA) president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain was recently elected one of the deputy presidents of Badminton Association of Malaysia ( BAM) for the term 2017 to 2021.
Abdul Aziz is the first BAM council member from Sabah and Sarawak to be elected to the No. 2 post in Malaysia’s badminton governing body which is now led by its president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria while former acting president Tan Sri Mohamed Al Amin was appointed as the advisor.
Abdul Aziz is however modest on his achievement because saying the new position will pose a great challenge for him, according to a SBA press statement yesterday.
“Of course it is a great honour for me and also for SBA because it was the first time for a Sarawakian to be elected for the post of deputy president,” Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying.
He said he has heavy responsibility to shoulder in view of BAM’s high expectations particularly in the development of badminton in Sarawak and Sabah.
“I also think the council members of BAM have recognised the importance of Sabah and Sarawak in the development of badminton in the country…one good thing in common is that we share vision of developing the level of the game to a higher level and it is good for us to have that,” Abdul Aziz said.
SBA also congratulated Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza for being elected the new president saying that he ( Norza) is a dynamic and visionary leader who can continue with BAM’s vision and mission. Norza’s appointment would signal a new direction for BAM as he plans to set up a badminton foundation in the country. According to Abdul Aziz, the role of the proposed foundation is to ensure the viability of taking up badminton as a professional career particularly those who intend to make a living as a player, a coach or as an official. “There are a lot of sports talent in the country be it in swimming, diving, athlet ics… and the emphasis given right now is to scout for such talents and to enable them make a living or a career including in racquet sports like badminton,” enthused Abdul Aziz on the present situat ion of sports development in the country.
“And among the first things which came to my mind after being elected is on how Sarawak can benefit from my position which may include in leveraging on some of the development programmes that are being undertaken by BAM such as the setting up badminton academies,” he said.
He revealed that BAM is planning to set up new academies throughout the country to complement its efforts to create a larger pool of elite players through the training of qualified coaches and technical officials.
And SBA is fully supportive of BAM’s long term plan which will benefit Sarawak because it has also been planning to establish its own badminton academy which is aimed to become the centre for training and producing a good pool of players who are capable to join the elites at national level. In light of this development, Abdul Aziz said SBA plans to ask from the state government a piece of land in Kuching which can be jointly developed with BAM to set up a badminton academy.
“We truly appreciate the continuing support from our leaders and the Sarawak State Government which have always been supportive of SBA and its efforts to promote the game among the general public as well as to elevate its standard to a higher level,” he said.
While Sarawak is no stranger to hosting international badminton tournaments, Abdul Aziz said BAM and Badminton World Federation (BWF) have confidence that the state could organise more world- class events in the near future. Since 2014 Sarawak had organised and hosted four international badminton championships successfully.
The latest championship hosted by Sarawak, Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open 2017, was widely acclaimed a success as it attracted many spectators from throughout the country and also from neighbouring countries.
Of course it is a great honour for me and also for SBA because it was the first time for a Sarawakian to be elected for the post of deputy president.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain,Sarawak Badminton Association president