BAM approve two proposals for the greater good of the sport
PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have made positive moves to safeguard the future of the sport and ensure the welfare of their shuttlers.
Two proposals – an increase in the players’ incentive schemes and the setting up of a pension scheme for retired shuttlers – were approved at the BAM council meeting here yesterday.
BAM shuttlers currently draw a fixed monthly income ranging from RM2,500 to RM10,000.
Under the new scheme, which will be based on the players’ results and world rankings, the shuttlers will receive an increase of about 25% in their incentives.
That means the top players could go on to earn a few hundred thousand ringgit from BAM under the scheme.
“The council approved this because it’s for the welfare of the players,” said BAM president Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff.
“Basically, we adjusted the incentive scheme to make it fairer to the players ... which could then help them in securing housing loans ... for example.
“The council also approved the pension scheme because many players have no plans after their playing careers.”
Tengku Mahaleel also announced that BAM’s bid to increase the number of badminton players in the country was given a boost when the council approved their plans to revive the interstate and inter-school tournaments.
“Malaysia has a very small base of badminton players ... about 4,800 in the whole country,” said Tengku Mahaleel.
“That is a far cry compared to China, who has 4,000 elite players alone.
“With such a small number of players, it’ll be hard to find another Lee Chong Wei.
“Our ultimate goal is to have 200,000 players ... and, to do that, we’re bringing back the interstate and inter-school tournaments.
“It’ll be good to have state rivalries in badminton, something akin to football. We are also targeting at least 40,000 players from the schools ... since we have about 4,000 badminton halls in schools around Malaysia.”