KUALA LUMPUR: Former national athlete R. Murugan has been working tirelessly to train the next generation of athletes in mainstream and para-athletics, despite being handed a life ban by the Selangor Athletics Association (SAA) in July last year.
Five others were also handed life bans after the association’s disciplinary committee found them “guilty of breaching several provisions of the association’s constitution”.
Besides Murugan, the suspended officials are Datuk S.M. Muthu, K. Pregash, G. Mohan, Mohd Fauzi Nanivanan Abdullah and S. Gunaseelan.
Ganesh Marathamutu’s 15-9 victory over incumbent Nurhayati Karim in Sunday’s SAA elections has raised Murugan’s hopes of a reprieve.
The new SAA leadership also comprises former DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming as deputy president, Andre Subbas as vice-president 1, Arunasalam Mookan Pillai as vice-president 2, Yagnish Nadarajah as secretary and Manimaran Sukumaran as treasurer.
“I’m not asking for the suspension to be lifted immediately. All I’m asking for is a chance to present my side of the story,” he told Twentytwo13.
“I hope the new leadership will look into our cases and give us a chance to respond. That was something we were denied previously.
“Let us present our case, then decide whether our suspensions were valid or whether they were imposed to silence us.”
The six officials had challenged the legality of SAA’s annual general meeting (AGM) on April 26, 2025, alleging financial irregularities in the association’s accounts and claiming that proper procedures had not been followed.
The six represented affiliates from Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Sepang, Klang and Hulu Selangor, accounting for two-thirds of SAA’s total affiliates.
They subsequently convened an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June 9, at which the April 26 AGM was declared null and void.
However, the then SAA leadership did not recognise the EGM’s validity and imposed life bans on all six officials.
In February, Muthu expressed hope that his disputed life ban would be lifted following a meeting with then Sports Commissioner Arrifin Ghani.
However, two months later, he said the six officials were considering legal action against SAA.
With no further developments on the proposed legal action, Murugan said he hoped to finally get the opportunity to clear his name.
“Despite my suspension, I have continued training athletes at my club, Kelab Olahraga Setiawangsa, which is based in Kuala Lumpur,” said the former SEA Games athlete.
“At the recent Para Malaysia Games, my athletes won a gold medal in the 800m and silver in the 1,500m events. Our next event is the MSSM (Malaysian School Sports Council) Special Education Athletics Championships in Kuantan from Nov 22-25.
“Hopefully, I can clear my name before then and concentrate fully on the November event.”
Murugan added that he would take only two days off for Deepavali, which falls on Nov 8.
“This is a huge event for us. I don’t mind sacrificing my holidays for my athletes.”
Image: Murugan (third, back row) with his young para-athletes prior the 2025 Malaysian Schools Sports Council meet.
