At 11am tomorrow, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will hold a partnership signing ceremony at a 5-star hotel located within walking distance of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
In attendance will be BAM’s honorary life president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, BAM acting president Datuk V. Subramaniam, general-secretary Datuk Kenny Goh, and several top shuttlers, including Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah.
Yet, members of the media who will be attending the event will be keen to ask one question, and one question only – who or what exactly is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating?
Has this anything to do with the supposed ‘allowances’ of a particular official? Or that a sponsor was secured minus a tender process?
BAM, in a brief statement this morning, said: “The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirms that officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) came over to our office last week to request certain information. BAM extended its full cooperation during the visit, and the officers carried out their duties in a professional manner.”
There are those who claim this could be a smear campaign within the association, whose members are gearing up to elect a new president early next year following Norza’s departure. However, others are beginning to question the manner in which certain decisions have been made, prompting the MACC probe.
Badminton is widely followed in this Southeast Asian nation, having enjoyed success on the international stage compared to Malaysia’s other popular sport, football. Due to its popularity, the sport has managed to attract major sponsors, including Affin Group, which recently signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the sports body.
Representatives from oil and gas giants Petronas will surely be looking at how the situation unfolds, as its three-year mega sponsorship deal, worth millions of ringgit, ends soon. Without Petronas’ involvement, BAM will find it tough financing its elite and junior athletes, who are mostly housed at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara.
