THE Malaysian football scene is not without drama. Though similar to the sport’s scenes in other countries, Malaysians more often than not have to deal with politicians in the equation. And, the well-being of clubs is often interlinked with the leadership capability of the person in charge of the state.

In what was seen by many as an absolute blunder in football management, the Kedah Football Association (KFA) came into the limelight last month due to its inability to pay players. In a widely criticised attempt at crisis-management PR, the state team’s secretary-general, Asmirul Anuar Aris, tried to deflect by blaming the Covid-19 pandemic.

While it is undeniable that the coronavirus crisis has affected the cash-flow operations of Malaysia’s football clubs, it is also these clubs’ responsibility to ensure they have proper contingency plans in place to deal with events such as this. The fact that KFA has not paid players for months is testament to the fact that the club’s management is in shambles.

Many of us are not surprised, looking at the KFA president himself, Mukhriz Mahathir. As the then menteri besar, he busied himself with politicking to save his own skin in the game instead of actually sitting down and figuring out a solution to the club’s problems.

With Kedah assemblymen abandoning the Pakatan Harapan ship in favour of the ruling Perikatan Nasional, as well as Mukhriz having his hands full with the infighting in his own party, Bersatu, KFA players were left with no one to turn to, not even the incompetent Asmirul.

It is an absolute embarrassment for Malaysian football when there are state teams being so badly managed to the point that they are not able to pay players for months. Up till today, no official solution has been announced.

Despite the negativity, there is at least one club we can put our hopes on to progress local football: the Southern Tigers. The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) club is the first Malaysian team to have won a continental title, namely the AFC Cup in 2015, and is the product of a merger of the state team and club side Johor FC. Prior to 2014, Johor managed to pick up only four major trophies in the Malaysian scene, which dates back to 1921.

The progress made following the momentous merger is the result of Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s work.

With major upgrades in training infrastructure and improvements to the squad, JDT went on to lift its first Super League title in 2014 – and has yet to relinquish it. The club also saw improvements in cash flow and business management, making it the best on all fronts in just under 10 years.

When we talk about Malaysian football, this is what we should talk about. Leadership to steer the development of one of the nation’s favourite sports, and who does it best.

Despite the many who view JDT unfavourably, the club itself has transcended beyond sports, evolving into a unifying point for Johoreans regardless of race and religion. Whenever there is a JDT game, Johor folk will flock to the mamak shops or sit in front of the TV to support their club. The same cannot be said of other local teams.

One may be tempted to say people like Mukhriz have more pressing matters to attend to, but how true is this? Tunku Ismail, being the Johor crown prince, regularly goes to the ground to assist his subjects. We saw this at the start of the virus crisis, when thousands of families in the state received direct assistance – cash and essential items – within weeks.

Mukhriz, on the other hand, despite having helmed Kedah, doesn’t even live in the state. He is known to have travelled back and forth between Kedah and Kuala Lumpur using the rakyat’s money.

Both these individuals played a similar role in their states, so what was it that made Mukhriz so incompetent?

With KFA set to get a new president in the coming weeks, perhaps, the club’s players and fans will finally get the leadership they deserve. – May 28, 2020.

* Taufiq Ahmad reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.