Khoo: FAM must stop acting like police

The FAM are being overzealous to punish individuals, and seem to have forgotten their main priority and objective - that is to develop football.

"Stop acting like the police and return to the main objective of being an administrator who is entrusted with the development of football in the country.

"As long as the FAM fails to revive the glory days of the 60s and 70s era, the FAM are continuing to betray the people, especially football lovers in the country, for failing to fulfill that objective.

"If FAM is not able to take the National team to the World Cup, try to at least qualify for the Olympics, not go backwards," he told Bernama Thursday.

Khoo also questioned the performance of the National squad (Harimau Malaya) that has failed to qualify for the Olympics since 1980.

"It pales in comparison when we compare the facilities and money available or spent now, with what was available when we qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympics in Germany and the 1980 Moscow Olympics in Russia," he said.

Khoo said the FAM were wasting too much time on issues that are not relevant and have taken a diversion from the original goal of forming the association in 1933, and in the end only football stand to lose.

"I am concerned with the current performance of the National team of late. FAM must make the changes before it is too late. I am afraid fans might decide to switch to hockey or other sports and football will loose its number one sport status among Malaysians," he said.

As for the FAM's intended action against National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal for his alleged violation of Article 88, Khoo said if the FAM were not happy with the coach, they (FAM) should not have employed him in the first place.

"Instead of punishing him, the FAM rather find a coach who will not criticise the FAM," said Khoo.

Rajagobal is expected to be hauled up by the FAM Disciplinary Committee after allegedly claiming that the presence of foreign imports in the M-League had resulted in a lack of lethal strikers for the National team.

The FAM Disciplinary Committee that met yesterday had decided to issue a show cause letter to Rajagobal for his comments to the press after the National team's 1-4 loss to Saudi Arabia.

Apart from Rajagobal, a number of leading football personalities like Kelantan FA President Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Perlis FA President Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and Johor FA President Tunku Ismail Idris Sultan Ibrahim had incurred the wrath of the FAM for allegedly violating Article 88.

The trio were suspended between 6 to 30 months and fined between RM18,000 to RM39,000 for their alleged offences.

Annuar Musa and Shahidan have since sought legal redress.