Hannah leaves it to BAM to settle issue with Misbun internally

PUTRAJAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is leaving to Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to resolve the crisis with Datuk Misbun Sidek internally.

Hannah said she is not aware of the contract content and discussions agreed between BAM and Misbun, the former Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) junior singles coaching director.

"It is a contractual issue between BAM and its coaches. Let BAM answer to whatever issues raised by Datuk Misbun first and I believe they can handle the case," she said.

Hannah said if the issue involves contract between the association and their athlete, coach or administrator, it is usually managed by the Sports Commissioner's Office (PJS) if there is a complaint.

Last Friday, the BAM special committee headed by its deputy president, Datuk V. Subramaniam in a media conference announced reaching a separation agreement with Misbun following the poor performance of the national junior badminton squad at the Asia Junior Championship in Jogjakarta, Indonesia recently.

However, Misbun in a media conference yesterday denied the matter and he even claimed that he was dismissed without any opportunity to defend himself and the move was not a mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Hannah congratulated wushu athlete Tammy Tan Hui Ling who ended a 38-year wait for Malaysia's first gold medal at the World University Games (Universiade) in Chengdu, China on Sunday through the women's Qiangshu event while Umar Osman also succeeded in breaking the men's national 400m record today.

She said, it proves that if the right focus and exposure is given to young athletes, they can 'fly high' on the international stage.

"So I hope wushu with the support given by KBS (Ministry of Youth and Sports), will continue to excel, with the next focus being the Asian Games.

"Recently we brought Umar and (sprinter) Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi to school to attract children's interest and give schoolchildren the opportunity to run on the Bukit Jalil National Stadium track.

"So I believe we will have many more rising stars in athletics, considering that athletics, swimming and combat sports are three sports that we must do well if we want to chase gold (at international games)," she said.

Meanwhile, head of the national contingent to the Commonwealth Youth Games Ang Li Peng, said a total of 14 athletes aged 14-18 from swimming, athletics and cycling (highway and track) will represent Malaysia at the Games.

She is confident that they will fight well, although no targets have been set to avoid pressure.

-- BERNAMA