FAM lauds decision allowing Harimau Malaysia to play for AFF Suzuki Cup

YANGON: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has lauded the Malaysian Cabinet decision in allowing the national squad, Harimau Malaysia, to play in the ongoing AFF Suzuki Cup championship here.
FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the decision had really boosted the spirit of the players in ensuring victory against Myanmar in the Group B final match tomorrow and to advance into the semifinals of the 11th edition of the championship.
"On behalf of the FAM, I would like to thank the Malaysian Cabinet for allowing Harimau Malaysia to play in the championship and I think this (government's support) has really inspired the team to beat Myanmar tomorrow," he told reporters.
The Cabinet decision on the matter was made during its meeting, after which the Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was quoted as saying that instead of withdrawing from the AFF Cup, Malaysia would consider using other avenues to protest against the Myanmar government for their brutal treatment against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Meanwhile, Hamidin explained that the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) had also given safety assurance to Malaysian players and officials, as well as supporters watching the match here tomorrow.
He said the assurance was given personally by MFF deputy secretary-general (Administration) U Ko Ko Thein during his meeting with the MFF and Myanmar security team.
"The security control for tomorrow's match will be tightened both inside and outside the stadium and the MFF president, U Zaw Zaw, had also given similar assurance on our safety," he said.
In another development, Hamidin praised head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee for successfully improving Malaysia's position in the FIFA rankings from the 164th spot last month to the 156th this month.
"This is the best spot the national squad had reached so far since Kim Swee took charge last year and I hope we will continue to improve our position.
"If we won the AFF Suzuki Cup this year, we will surely move further up because we know the Kim Swee's key performance indicator (KPI) set by FAM is to secure the 140th spot and we are so near to it," he added. — Bernama