SHAPAWI STRIKES BACK
NSC director-general dismisses allegations by MSBF
Afurious National Sports Council (NSC) directorgeneral Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail has fired back at Malaysia Snooker and Billiards Federation (MSBF) president Melvin Chia for his scathing remarks over funding and NSC’s failure to provide a training centre for cue sports.
In a Timesport exclusive on Sunday, Melvin claimed that cue sports is facing a bleak future and that MSBF have exhausted their bank balance to manage the sport.
Melvin also touched on NSC’s failure to provide funds for development and expenses for tournaments. For the record, the national cueists have gone for only one official tournament since the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
MSBF’s athletes are currently struggling to put food on their table. Former Asian junior champion
Moh Keen Hoo, who was retrenched recently, has already received an offer from a club in China.
It does not bode well for cue sports with the Philippines Sea Games only about seven months away. Currently, the snooker and pool players do not receive an allowance and are not under a centralised programme.
However, Shapawi, in a statement, clarified several issues raised by Melvin yesterday.
“On Melvin’s application for a training centre in the vicinity of NSC, we are not ready to reinstate cue sports just yet as a full-time sport due to several factors. The national cueists aren’t ready to be under a structured full-time programme, conducted under a rigid environment.
“In our previous experience, it was tough to manage cue sports athletes in regard to the daily training schedule. Many were out until late at night to play in unsanctioned tournaments at clubs.
“The council assisted MSBF by covering the rent of a private training facility near Bukit Jalil just before the 2017 Sea Games, but only one player used it while others were training at other clubs. This was a wasteful venture for NSC.
“We also found that the cueists were uncomfortable staying at our hostel because of their way of life.
“What they want is a monthly allowance but they do not want to train full time. It is also a problem (to have a full-time programme) as cue sports is not under the Podium Programme.
“To date, we are unable to identify athletes who meet the requirements as national athletes, as we are not sure how MSBF conduct their selection. Instead, all we get from MBSF are requests for funds,” said Shapawi.
On allegations that NSC have never helped MSBF after the Sea Games, Shapawi said the claims are inaccurate.
“Last year, we put aside RM3,640 for cue sports for competitions’ expenses. We also directly assisted (national player) Rory Thor in 2017 (for the UK Pro Tour) as he was more comfortable dealing with us. Rory has now decided not to apply for funds as he feels he is not doing well.
“We did not channel more funds to MSBF last year as the priority was for sports involved in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games,” he said.
Shapawi stressed that cue sports is currently not under the Podium Programme because the sport did not do well at the 2017 Sea Games.
“Cue sports only delivered three bronze medals. However, MSBF and other associations not under Podium can still convince the committee of the programme by disclosing their selection process and also development plans, especially in the states
“Frankly, we are not sure whether the affiliates of MSBF still exist or not.”
On MSBF’s request to have the snooker and pool tables, used during the 2017 Sea Games, for training purposes, Shapawi said: “The equipment is going through an audit.
“However, we have officially informed MSBF that we will loan the equipment, including tables, to them, which will be installed at a private centre, identified by the national body. This is for their athletes to prepare for the Sea Games.
“We have also informed MSBF that we will cover the rental of the private centre.
“However, MSBF must offer us a guarantee that the equipment will not be used by patrons of the centre as it is government property. We are waiting for MSBF to come back to us about it.
“I do not want to make further comments about this matter. I informed Melvin during the recent National Sports Awards that we would assist MSBF once the Olympic Council of Malaysia selection committee finalised the participation of cue sports at the upcoming Sea Games based on the certain requirements.
“We will have meetings with the National Sports Associations (NSAs), especially those not under the Podium Programme, (on funding and assistance for the Sea Games) soon to discuss on several plans,” Shapawi added.