KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) associate members are set to elect a new leadership line up at its annual general meeting tomorrow.
Incumbent Datuk SM Muthu is being challenged by former MAF president, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who is also Federal Territories Minister, for the president’s post, while another presidential hopeful Nur Hayati Karim is reportedly withdrawing from the contest.
Muthu, has served as president since 2019 when he defeated his mentor, Karim Ibrahim, while Shahidan is no stranger to the athletics scene, having been president himself from 2006 to 2012, when he lost to Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad in the 2013-2015 elections.
According to local sports commentator Dr Pekan Ramli, the newly elected leadership should avoid having self-serving ‘politikus’ in the association and should prioritise the development of athletics.
“MAF needs to conduct a large-scale transformation to bring back the country’s glory days in track and field events in the South East Asian (SEA) and Asian regions. The federation must focus on creating great athletes by spurring development at the grassroots level,” he told Bernama.
Although athletics achieved its gold medal target at the recent Hanoi SEA Games, it was not a satisfactory achievement compared to the total 47 gold medals being contested, he added.
The development of athletics and the progress of the sport in Malaysia should supersede any other agenda, regardless of whoever is elected to leadership positions in the federation tomorrow. — Bernama
