Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash
The controversy surrounding the nominations for the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) just goes out to prove that elected leaders of sports association believe they have the powers to overrule their own council’s decisions.
If indeed the Kedah Hockey Association (Kedah HA) president Asmirul Anuar Aris had failed to abide by the unanimous decision made by his own council, than it is a clear case of abuse of power.
It was reported that Kedah HA council had nominated Air Asia executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun for the MHC president’s post but Asmirul had instead submitted a nomination for incumbent Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal instead.
Kamaruddin’s nominations for the post was thrown out after he failed to garner the minimum three needed. Both the Johor HA and Kuala Lumpur HA had nominated Kamaruddin for the post.
With Kamaruddin’s nomination rejected, those aligned to him also withdrew from the contests for other posts.
Disgruntled officials from the Kedah HA are expected to request the Sports Commissioner’s Office to intervene in the matter.
While it remains to be seen how the Sports Commissioner would handle the matter, the Kedah HA should be taking the first step at home.
Read more: The case against autocratic leadership in sports
If the association believes Asmirul had overstepped his authority, than the Kedah HA council should exercise their firm stand on the matter by taking disciplinary action against their own president.
Presidents of sports organisations do not have any veto powers to overule a decision made by its council, even if it was by a razor thin margin of a single vote.
They do have a casting vote, but that applies only on matters that were deadlocked.
In the case of Kedah HA, by not initiating any action against their own president, it would tantamount to the council’s ineptness.
“Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”
Lord Hewart CJ
On the MHC’s part, the fact that they allowed their legal committee chairman Jadadish Chandra to address the issue only throws further doubt into the matter.
As a nominee for the deputy president, Jadadish’s role in the issue can be seen as improper by those affected.
The MHC and Jadadish, a lawyer by profession, must surely know that the latter’s two-fold role in the issue would create contradiction.
As it was, Jadadish would be involved in a straight fight for the deputy president’s post with Kuala Lumpur HA president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shariman Zaharuddin. The Regent of Pahang Tengku Mahkota Tengku Hassanal withdrew his nomination after the fiasco.
Jadadish in a press conference yesterday also shut the doors on Kamaruddin by claiming that the decision cannot be appealed because the nominations closed on Nov 2.
Should justice be denied to Kamaruddin if the process of the nomination itself was flawed?
The Sports Commissioner’s office should be addressing this issue and confirm whether the verification of nomination forms were done by independent parties. It should definitely should not be by those already contesting the elections.
If not, it would be a repeat of the Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPM) elections that has been unduly delayed till date.
Another key question to look into is – as whether the president was entitled to sign off any legal documents on behalf of the affiliate.
The norm is usually for the secretary of the association to do this. The secretary is the person empowered by any association’s constitution to handle the communications of the association.
The Sports Commissioner’s Office, should perhaps, also look into whether each affiliated members made their nominations after going through the proper procedure of discussing the matter at their own council meetings. Or were some nominations made unilaterally by president’s of the state HAs?
Subahan and women deputy president Prof Datuk Dr S. Shamala had earlier indicated that they would step down from their posts if Malaysia failed to qualify for the Olympics, but rescinded their decision just days before the Olympic qualifying matches against Britain last weekend. For the record, the national team coached by Roelant Oltmans lost 3-9 on aggregate to Britain.
Shamala was also elected unopposed after former international K. Maheswari pulled out from the contest.
The unprofessional act by one person has thrown in doubt on the veracity of the nomination process. Without proper investigation and decision, accusations of malice and bias would continue to fester.
As it is Kamaruddin and the rest, who had withdrawn from contests for other posts, have indicated they were no longer interested in seeking positions in the MHC.
They are now only seeking clarity and justice in the matter. Without giving them any remedy to seek answers, it would only mean isolating the group from contributing positively to the sport in the future.
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