Pickleball has exploded in popularity worldwide, gaining millions of new players in recent years. Yet trouble is brewing in Malaysia as the Sports Commissioner’s Office has given the Malaysian Pickleball Association (MPA) until Jan 14, 2026, to address its governance issues or face deregistration.
This follows a meeting between MPA officials and Deputy Sports Commissioner Mohsinar Abdul Malek on Oct 9, after Farell Choo’s resignation as president and the appointment of Delima Ibrahim as caretaker president, effective July 1, 2025.
Delima, a founding member of MPA and president of the Sarawak Pickleball Association, was appointed an ambassador of the sport by the International Federation of Pickleball in 2020.
She said MPA’s executive council had no objections to her taking over as president. However, MPA deputy president Harmeet Singh claimed Choo’s decision to hand over the post to Delima was against the association’s constitution.
“This is not right. According to the constitution, if the president resigns, the deputy should be next in line. Farell had initially resigned in 2023 but was convinced to return as president,” said Harmeet.
“There are several vacancies in the executive committee, and some members were appointed instead of being elected.
“Because of these discrepancies, I decided to file a complaint with the Sports Commissioner’s Office, which led to the meeting with Mohsinar.”
Subsequently, Mohsinar sent MPA a letter on Oct 14 titled Notice of remedial measures for the governance of the Malaysian Pickleball Association.
The steps recommended are:
i. The party responsible for implementing the remedial actions shall be the legitimate main committee of MPA, namely those individuals elected during the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM), who continue to hold their respective positions as submitted to the Commissioner through the e-ROSA system.
ii. To conduct a validation process of membership in accordance with the constitution and to admit state-level pickleball associations as affiliated members.
iii. To convene an AGM and conduct elections for a new main committee.
iv. To submit the relevant information report (MYKB) to the Commissioner within thirty (30) days after the AGM.
v. To administer MPA in accordance with its valid constitution.
The letter further stated that should MPA fail to implement the recommended remedial measures within three months from the date of issuance of the notice, the Commissioner may take legal action to suspend MPA’s registration under Section 20(1A)(c) – failure or neglect to remedy any misconduct, malpractice, or irregularity by its office bearers or members within the specified period.
Harmeet said he hoped good sense would prevail and that everyone would work together to save the association.
Delima could not be reached for comment, while newly appointed Sports Commissioner Arrifin Ghani declined to comment, saying it was best “to speak to the association”.
