The eyebrow-raising clash between two Malaysian ministers to occupy the Kuala Lumpur Football Association’s top post has caught the attention of the Cabinet, resulting in a decision to bar “administrative members” from contesting for positions in sports bodies.
This was revealed by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (main image) following this morning’s Cabinet meeting. Nik Nazmi had earlier voiced his intention to contest for the KLFA presidency, as he was up against Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil for the top post.
“The Cabinet today decided that administrative members should not contest in sports bodies,” Nik Nazmi posted on X today.
“As such, I accept this decision and will withdraw from contesting for the KLFA presidency.”
Nik Nazmi, who is PKR Setiawangsa MP, said he remains committed to supporting KLFA in developing a healthy football ecosystem, and to supporting Kuala Lumpur City FC’s success as a professional football team.
“At the same time, I will continue to be the patron of Setiawangsa Rangers (FC), which is an affiliate member of KLFA, and which I established in 2018.”
Twentytwo13, had yesterday, highlighted there was a ruling several years ago that Cabinet ministers were not allowed to hold positions within sports bodies unless they received clearance from the prime minister. The ruling came following the backlash that politicians received when the sports they represented were not improving.
Nik Nazmi and Fahmi, who are both PKR leaders, recently revealed their intentions to contest for the top post in KLFA and had also made public their line-up of preferred candidates whom they would like to see elected at the FA’s Sept 7 polls.
Those who were on Fahmi’s line-up included Datuk Azman Abidin, the political secretary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and Datuk Razlan Rafii, who is Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s political secretary.
Nik Nazmi’s team included Wangsa Maju MP and PKR man Zahir Hassan, Shah Alam MP Azli Yusof, who is with Parti Amanah Negara, and Malaysia Stadium Corporation chief executive officer Ilyas Jamil. There are also two Kuala Lumpur City Hall ranking personnel – Mohamad Hamim and Mohd Sori Husain – on Nik Nazmi’s list.
As reported by Twentytwo13 yesterday, listing the preferred ‘line-up’ was similar to the practice of having en bloc nominees, often seen during PKR’s party polls. Some have expressed fear that KLFA may not function well, should members from both camps end up securing spots in the FA election. Others wondered how Fahmi, or Nik Nazmi, already bogged down with ministerial duties and matters involving their kawasan (constituencies), would make time for football.
Stakeholders had previously voiced their displeasure over politicians “hijacking” sports bodies. Several former ministers and politicians have served sporting organisations in the past, most notably, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim. The Arau MP, at one time, had served several sports bodies, including athletics, football, swimming, and even kabaddi.
Shahidan remains president of the Malaysia Athletics Federation and Malaysia Swimming.
Main image: Nik Nazmi | Facebook