TMJ: I'm sincere in wanting to sponsor cost of planting new grass at National Stadium

Tunku Ismail, who is also owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT), wrote in a post on Twitter that he was willing to visit the stadium here on March 19, besides sharing the cost of planting and maintaining the new grass at the stadium.

"My intention to help is sincere. The Zoysia grass at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium has been proven.

"I will visit SNBJ on March 19. I will share the cost for the new turf and the annual maintenance cost which does not exceed RM240,000," according to his post which was uploaded via the official '@HRHRJohorII' account today.

On Thursday (March 10), Tunku Ismail had said in a statement on the Johor Southern Tigers' Facebook page that he wanted to sponsor the cost of planting new grass, from Cow Grass to Zeon Zoysia, just like the one used at the JDT-owned Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, as a gift to the Harimau Malaya squad.

Tunku Ismail also shared a letter sent by his private secretary, Syed Umar Syed Abdul Rahman to Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu yesterday.

In the letter, titled 'Kurniaan Kos Penanaman Rumput Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil', Syed Umar stated that the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium used the services of Sports Turf Solutions Sdn Bhd, which has the experience in grass planting and maintenance for the project.

"The company also has expertise in planting the 'Zeon Zoysia' type grass and maintaining it well at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru," according to the contents of the letter.

In March last year, it was reported that work to replace the grass for RM10 million was expected to be completed within three months (June 2021), including field maintenance, ventilation systems, drainage systems, artificial lighting as well as training for lawn supervisors.

However, the project has yet to take off although the government had approved the budget, while the stadium has also been used as a vaccination centre since June 21.

It is also understood that Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) has yet to decide on the type of grass to be used as it is awaiting a report from a local university on the most suitable type of grass for the stadium.