Naim says his views were valid and not out of place

Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad today said that he his views were not out of place or he had jumped the gun when announcing the decision to build a Class One velodrome.

"My view was not out of place and I didn't jump the gun," said Naim adding that he was directly involved in the Velodrome Nasional Malaysia committee under the Youth and Sports Ministry and in the Velodrome Nasional Malaysia Technical committee under the Works Ministry.

Naim said this in a statement in reply to a statement by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday that the proposal to build a Class One Velodrome was still in the discussion stage.

Khairy had also said that Naim had no authority to make any decisions or make an announcement on building a Class One Velodrome.

Naim had on June 10, proposed to build just one Class One Covered Velodrome in Cheras to reduce the cost of maintenance although the Prime Minister had announced an allocation of RM80 million to build an indoor velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

Naim had suggested that the RM80 million could be channeled to states for the development of cycling in the country.

"If my views, recommendations and suggestions were misunderstood, I would like to apologize," said Naim adding that he had also contacted Khairy to explain the matter.