KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Khoo Khiam Ping (image), is the new Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA) president following the national body’s extraordinary general meeting-cum-election at Akademi Badminton Malaysia this afternoon.
The consultant said his priority was to ensure that MPA’s suspension by the Sports Commissioner’s Office (SCO) is lifted.
He also hopes to unite all factions within the association and get pickleball included in the 2029 SEA Games and 2030 Asian Games.
“We have completed the first task of electing new office bearers. The next job is to lift the association’s suspension,” said Khoo.
“There are also several outstanding issues at the state level that need to be sorted out, and the newly elected MPA leadership will be here to help everyone.
“Our main job now is to unite the fraternity. I will extend an invitation to the previous committee members to see how we can work together to help the sport grow.”
He said that due to the issues within MPA, it failed to get the sport into next year’s SEA Games, which Malaysia is hosting.
“During my three-year term as president, I hope to get the sport included in the 2029 SEA Games in Singapore and the 2030 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar,” said Khoo.
Prominent lawyer and sports administrator Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos was appointed by Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari on May 21 to chair the ad hoc committee overseeing MPA, following its suspension on Feb 27.
He was given a one-year mandate to sort out the issues but has overseen the election of new office bearers within five months.
“The next course of action is to write a report to the minister, informing him of the changes we have introduced and recommending that the suspension be lifted,” said Jahaberdeen.
“I would like to thank the SCO, especially the Sports Commissioner himself, Arrifin Ghani, who has made the job easy for the ad hoc committee.
“Hopefully, this is a new start for the sport, and it will grow in strength from now on.”
Separately, former Johor Pickleball Association president S. Rajasegram, who represented the state at the election, said he saw a bright future for the sport.
“The chairman (Jahaberdeen) is a no-nonsense person, who has sorted out the problems within MPA in double-quick time,” said Rajasegram.
“Johor was one of the associations unhappy with how things were being run in MPA, but now we have a dynamic new team.
“Pickleball has so much potential. If we get our act together, we should be able to achieve greater things.”
Khoo was previously elected as MPA’s treasurer at its annual general meeting on Jan 13, but the election was annulled by the SCO after it reviewed the relevant information report and concluded that the association had failed to rectify several issues previously highlighted, including a lack of transparency in validating affiliate membership applications.
The SCO also found that MPA had fixed the AGM date without approval from the main committee, contrary to Sports Commissioner’s Circular No. 2 of 2021.
It further found that the Dec 22, 2025, main committee meeting breached Clauses 19.1 and 19.2 of the MPA constitution, as it was chaired by the secretary.
MPA’s governance issues began last year when founding president Farrell Choo stepped down and handed over the leadership to the association’s treasurer, Delima Ibrahim, who became acting president on July 1, 2025.
However, MPA’s constitution states that the deputy president should assume the role if the president steps down.
The SCO issued MPA a show-cause letter on Feb 4 before suspending the national body on Feb 27 under the Sports Development Act 1997.
MPA office bearers 2026-2029
President: Datuk Khoo Khiam Ping
Deputy president: Michael Robin Jayesuria
Vice presidents: Shahridzuan Abdullah, Amir Farid Abdul Majid
Secretary: Ho Seng Cheh
Treasurer: Zulkarnain Mohamed Sharuddin
Committee members: Chia Ting Sheng, Mohd Nazrin Harum, Khairol Azmi Yussof
