Elyas: No room for failure

PENSIVE: Elyas Omar

KUALA LUMPUR: He is known as the man with the Midas touch, especially in sports. Tan Sri Elyas Omar was not only known as the third Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, but also a prominent figure in the sports fraternity.

He helmed the KL Football Association and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and was vice-president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM), among others.

Under his leadership, KL won the Malaysia Cup for three consecutive years — 1987, 1988 and 1989 — and as BAM president, Elyas ensured Malaysia won the Thomas Cup in 1992.

He also served as Sports Commissioner from 2004 to 2007. His recognition in sports did not go unnoticed as he was inducted in the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame in 2007.

Elyas had his fair share of criticism especially during his years as the Sports Commissioner, especially with the ruckus in national taekwondo scene. Some labeled him a ‘dictator’ but Elyas stressed he was merely following the book.

Elyas spent some time with Mailsport’s Senior Journalist HARESH DEOL recently as he spoke about a wide range of issues — from the pathetic state of KL football to our national shuttlers not being able to qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals.

Mailsport (MS): You were instrumental in charting the fortunes of the national badminton team leading to them winning the 1992 Thomas Cup in KL. Yet today, we struggle to qualify for the Finals. How do you see this?

Elyas Omar (EO): It is really sad. It is diffi cult for us to qualify, and this may be the first time we may not qualify since 1949. If that happens, BAM should take full responsibility. We should be moving ahead and not backwards.

Obviously something went wrong somewhere. After we won the Thomas Cup in 1992, we should have achieved more glory for the country. Feeling sad alone will not help. Something must be done immediately.

There must be a five-year programme with an annual review of the programme. I’m sorry to say but they way I see it, we don’t have a team this time around. And if we don’t qualify, then heads must roll.

MS: What was your recipe back then?

EO: After we almost lost to India in the 1979 Thomas Cup qualifiers, we had had to do something quickly. We developed a Thomas/Uber Cup campaign and set a six-year plan to develop the national teams and win the Cup. We had to do a quick job, pressure cooker development. It was launched in 1985 and implemented in 1986 and we succeeded in fulfilling our plan by winning the Thomas Cup in 1992.

My plan was to strengthen our doubles players. At that time we had Razik Sidek and Jalani Sidek as our strongest pair and we already had the base. Then we moulded Cheah Soon Kit-Soo Beng Kiang and made them into world class players within two years. We had a very tight time-table. I had always pushed but I was close to them and talked to them so that they would be motivated and able to handle the pressure. They needed confidence.

It was not whether you can win it but more of a situation of if you want to win it or not.

Our weakness then was in the singles department as we only had Rashid Sidek. Misbun’s (Sidek) performance was going down at that time but I placed a lot of emphasis on the doubles as we would then be guaranteed two points. All we then needed was a point from the singles and the possibility of winning a point from three singles players was greater than two doubles pairs. We should have carried on with that momentum but we didn’t.

MS: What do you think happened?

EO: BAM started to dismantle. I wonder what happened to the badminton academy? The government had allocated six acres of land in a joint venture effort with a private company but it is nowhere in sight till today. In fact, we should have established another academy in the country.

MS: There also seems to be too much focus on the elite few.

EO: I’ve been informed there’s just too much of focus at the top and not much done at the State level. I remember handing out grants to the States to produce talent.

BAM should not be conducting training for the shuttlers.

BAM should only have centralised training just before any major team event to tighten the loose ends.

We have to create more clubs! BAM should be encouraging more clubs but it looks like they are trying to fight against the clubs. A club president once told me that BAM were very hostile.

I know the predicament of Nusa Mahsuri as they used to come to me. Their problem was either Nusa Mahsuri or BAM but never working hand in hand. State BAs should create more clubs at the grassroots. BAM has more money now then during my time. So money shouldn’t be a problem.

MS: When we talk about clubs, the name of World and Asian junior champion Zulfadli Zulkili comes to mind.

EO: They should be exposing Zulfadli at the highest level now. He is capable. BAM fail to realise they are a body for all associations in the country. Perhaps they need to change their name to Badminton Association(s) of Malaysia to help them remember that.

MS: Do you think you were snubbed at the recent BAM gala night?

EO: There was no mention of me, no thank you but I was invited. Why should they humiliate me? I don’t understand why they (BAM) asked me to attend but when I was there it was as if I did not exist. (Note: BAM had quickly issued an apology to Elyas over the matter).

MS: Let’s talk about football. KL are currently placed rock bottom in the Super League.

EO: I’m sad. Both badminton and football have not progressed and I’m very sad. The KL football team were the first in the country to start employing players on a semi-professional basis. We were even once the top four clubs in the region. Today, we are nothing.

MS: Some believe you ‘spoiled’ KLFA by being overly generous during your time and now they find it difficult to fend for themselves.

EO: I would like to correct you on that. We didn’t have money. We asked for money. Despite winning trophies our players didn’t get land. Selangor players got big fat bonuses and even petrol stations during that time. But we helped the players to buy apartments. The association did not enjoy much funds but we managed.

MS: Match-fixing has not died despite a major crackdown in the early 90s when you were a FAM vice-president.

EO: I am not trying to angkat (butter) him but Tuanku (FAM president Sultan Ahmad Shah) was very serious about it. But I believe there was not enough joint effort among the parties concerned. But I’m happy the KL boys were clean as they had high values.

Perhaps there was a lapse along the way. There was certainly a lapse of focus in enforcement. Corruption requires action at both State and national levels. It’s also a question of the quality of players we have. There is no point having good players who are difficult to handle. We should just sack them.

MS: How was your working experience as a Sports Commissioner?

EO: Three years isn’t a lot of time. As I was the first fulltime Sports Commissioner (2004-2007), I had to look into the legislation as many associations had faulty constitutions. Our sports management is chaotic!

We cannot blame the officials alone as it is the fault of the legal framework as well. We are good at talking but we do not implement. Presidents must be hands-on.

MS: But many officials and presidents seem to hang on to their positions for far too long.

EO: We should not tolerate failure. We must be a disciplined society. Sadly, we are not disciplined. If a person fails, no action is taken against him or her. They carry on happily. Gagal, gagal-lah. (Fail, fail lah).

MS: But you courted controversy with the deregistration of the Malaysian Taekwondo Association.

EO: I was doing the right thing. I followed the book and tried to put things right. I didn’t have an agenda.

MS: Will you return to the sports circle?

EO: It depends.

MS: Do you think Malaysian sports will prosper?

EO: I don’t know.