Dr Khairi steps down as NSI’s CEO
KUALA LUMPUR: Dr. Mohd
Khairi Zawi (pic) has stepped down as chief executive officer of the National Sports Institute
(NSI).
The 55-year-old has become the third key figure in the agency to leave following the termination of Datuk Seri Abdul Azim
Zabidi as the chairman in July and Australian Tim Newenham’s resignation from his role as the Podium Programme director in September.
Youth and Sports Ministry chief secretary Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali confirmed that he had received the letter from Khairi who had requested an early termination to his current three-year contract.
“The Ministry had received the letter from Khairi last week. His contract is supposed to expire next January, but he made a request to leave on Nov 30,” said Lokman after closing the KBS Badminton Talents Camp at the National Paralympics Centre of Excellence here yesterday.
“But it’s for the Minister(Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman) to accept the request or otherwise, and we expect him to decide on the next course of action soon.”
Asked if Khairi’s action has got to do with the recent restructuring of the Podium Programme that had been placed under the purview of the National Sports Council (NSC), Lokman replied: “The reason given by him was that he plans to rejoin a higher learning institution (where he previously served).
“There was no mention of the mergence or other matters related to the NSI.”
Khairi, who has a doctorate in sports biomechanics from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Master’s degree in human motor control from the University of Oregon, the United States, was appointed in January 2016, succeeding Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz.
The multi-million Podium Programme was launched that year but failed to yield desirable results especially with the Malaysian contingent falling short of expectations at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April and Indonesian Asian Games in August.
Khairi once famously said he would quit if the Podium Programme athletes fail to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“If we miss the gold medal in Tokyo, to me, it only goes to show the lack of my leadership. I will take responsibility (for it),” he was quoted saying.