STILL GOING STRONG
Business as usual for hockey players despite NSC’s budget cuts
WHILE many players in the Malaysian Football League have complained of nonpayment of salaries, their counterparts in the Malaysian Hockey League face no such issue.
The hockey players have been promptly paid by their clubs in the MHL as well as by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
While athletes in other sports are also affected by the National Sports Council’s budget cuts, it’s still business as usual in the hockey fraternity.
They have been able to manage things, and so far no one from the MHL has suffered like some of the footballers, who have gotten into debts and forced to do odd jobs.
Yes, there have been times when the MHC paid the national players a few months late, but this is mainly because they need to wait for the National Sports Council (NSC) to forward the incentives after playing in major tournaments.
MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, who is an accountant by profession, figured that the MHL has been operating smoothly because of prudent financial management.
“We are not a rich organisation, but prudent spending over the last four years (since Subahan became president) has seen hockey stay clear of salary and other payment controversies.
“We see today there are many sports organisations suffering due to shortage of cash, but hockey has not had that problem since I took over four years ago,” said Subahan.
The MHC’s main sponsor is Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
They received a whopping RM20 million sponsorship from Tenaga Nasional for five years (from 2015-2019), and this is the biggest sponsorship ever received by the MHC since they were formed on Aug 15, 1953.
“We not only have to manage players, but officials as well as salaried staff over the years.
“Organising tournaments is also a ‘big budget’ attempt.
“Take for example, the April Olympic Qualifiers which we will host at the National Stadium (Bukit Jalil). We need at least RM800,000 to RM1 million to organise it.
“And not many people know that it is not an easy task to ask for money nowadays, but we have always succeeded in whatever endeavours we attempt because of prudent spending,” said Subahan.
Though MHC will lose their Australian technical director Terry Walsh (after three years) due to budget cuts, the MHL’s hockey players are still very much in the game.