The president of the Sabah Athletics Association, Mohamat Hassan (main image), is keeping a low profile after 13 executive council members filed a motion of no confidence against him.
The group – which includes deputy president Henry Kenneth Lawrence, vice-presidents David Williams, Leonny Leo, and Dr Raymie Abu Bakar, as well as secretary Bonnie Rudolf – submitted the motion on June 14. They accused Mohamat of “persistent and unaddressed constitutional breaches and failures in leadership.”
Twentytwo13 contacted Mohamat on June 19, but he replied that he was “busy” and would respond later. A week has passed, and he has yet to answer calls or reply to WhatsApp messages.
The 13 committee members listed 10 reasons for demanding his removal:
• Breach of Clause 22.5 of the Constitution
• Breach of Clause 22.6 of the Constitution
• Failure to present and explain the association’s financial report
• Use of association funds without proper procedure
• Inefficiency in programme management
• Doubts over the association’s financial integrity and reputation
• Unilateral selection of delegates to the Malaysia Athletics AGM on June 15
• Repeated defiance of committee decisions
• Failure to maintain unity and harmony within the committee
• Damaging the reputation and confidence of affiliate members
The members claimed Mohamat approved disbursements exceeding RM5,000 without prior committee approval, breaching Clause 22.5. They also alleged that he sanctioned payments of over RM50,000 without approval from the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), in violation of Clause 22.6.
“We are dissatisfied with how he has run the association. That’s why we’ve filed the vote of no confidence and called for an emergency general meeting on July 5,” said a committee member.
“The constitution clearly states that any payments exceeding RM5,000 need committee approval. That procedure hasn’t been followed.
“We’re also unhappy with the financial statements – some of the figures just don’t make sense.”
Asked about the possibility of legal action, the member added: “We’re not afraid. If he wants to go down the legal route, so be it. We just want answers to our 10 queries.”
This is not the only athletics body under pressure.
Malaysia Athletics, the national governing body, faces a court case initiated by the Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletics Association. The case is scheduled for mention on July 27.
In Selangor, six affiliates of the state association – Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Sepang, Klang, and Hulu Selangor – are also considering legal action against their association and president Nurhayati Karim.
They allege “procedural deficiencies” during Selangor AA’s AGM on April 26, which they claim denied them the right to nominate delegates to the Malaysia Athletics AGM.
The six have submitted a letter to the Sports Commissioner’s Office, seeking a hearing with the Sports Dispute Committee.
Sports Commissioner Suhardi Alias is the committee’s secretary.
