The new chairman of the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC) is likely to be revealed tomorrow. It is hoped that the person appointed will not be a mere political appointee but someone with expertise in stadium management.
The person must also have a good working relationship with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), which has designated the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, as the home of Harimau Malaya.
Besides FAM, the new chairman must also work closely with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), and the Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) – the three national bodies that actively use the facilities at Kuala Lumpur Sports City.
The contracts of chairman Datuk Hans Isaac and 15 others appointed to the corporation’s board for the 2023-2025 session end tomorrow.
Isaac’s successor must understand his or her scope of work, have a passion for sports, and be capable of shouldering the responsibilities as the asset manager for the Youth and Sports Ministry.
One such person is Datuk Stuart Ramalingam, who heads the Road to Gold programme and was formerly FAM’s secretary general and chief executive officer of the Malaysian Football League (MFL).
Stuart has been out of the limelight since September when he left MFL. It helps that he has a good relationship with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
MSC chief executive officer Illyas Jamil said: “Every two years, we appoint 16 people to the board, including a chairman. We are waiting for the minister to announce the new chairman, which might happen tomorrow.”
MSC has hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons in recent times. It was forced to close the National Stadium in December after the Asean Championship Cup for upgrading works following two embarrassing incidents.
In October 2022, several individuals used dustpans and brooms to sweep away water from the rain-soaked football pitch before the Asian Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Bahrain.
A year later, chunks of grass on the pitch came loose in Malaysia’s 4-2 win over India in the Merdeka Cup. This was despite nearly RM4.8 million being spent on a new drainage system, electric cables, and special machines for light-efficient grass around the National Stadium, as well as receiving the Zeon Zoysia turf – valued at between RM1.2 million and RM1.4 million – from Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Ibrahim.
Illyas assured that the National Stadium’s pitch is now in immaculate condition for the Malaysia Cup final between Johor Darul Ta’zim and Sri Pahang FC on April 12.
“We are very confident with the pitch. Even if there is a downpour before the final, the drainage system can handle it,” said Illyas.
There was more good news for fans as MSC decided that parking fees would be capped at RM5 per entry for concerts or sporting tournaments. Previously, it was as high as RM30. On non-event days, the parking fees are RM2 for the first three hours and RM5 for anything above three hours.
“We have informed the car park operators about our decision. Previously, there was a form of profit sharing, but now they will keep all the money and continue to pay a flat rental fee.
“Last year, we earned slightly more than RM200,000 from parking. We have to find ways to make up for that shortfall.”
Illyas said MSC is looking to increase parking bays and that one way of earning more is to continue hosting concerts.
“Hosting concerts is our best source of revenue. We only get a full house for cup finals, and that is not enough to sustain us,” said Illyas.
“We have learnt from past mistakes and no longer allow excessively heavy equipment on the pitch.”
