THE Selangor football team, which has been thrown out of its Shah Alam home stadium, is the latest issue which Barisan Nasional hopes to draw on to recapture the state in the 14th general election.

What started as power struggle in the Football Association of Selangor between Azmin Ali and its committee members culminated recently when the state government barred the team from playing at its iconic Shah Alam stadium.

The stadium is owned by the Shah Alam Municipal Council.

Understandably, it angered Red Giants supporters who have been venting their anger on social media against the decision, which effectively leaves the Selangor team without its iconic stadium.

The 33-time Malaysia Cup champion is now playing its 2018 M-League matches at Selayang stadium.

But there is simple solution to the problem, according to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The Barisan Nasional chairman assured fans the Selangor squad will return to Shah Alam stadium if BN recaptures the state in the 14th general election.

“We will hand Shah Alam Stadium back to the Red Giants,” he said last Sunday.

Najib assurance is the latest sop from the BN to Selangor voters as it ramps up effort to win back the richest state in Malaysia, which it lost in the 2008 general election.

Najib’s pitch should resonate with the hundreds of Red Giants’ supporters who have had many memorable moments at the Shah Alam stadium.

Selangor Supporters’ action group spokesman Mohd Firdaus Abdul Mutalib said they have now become “political donkeys” (keldai politik) because of the issue, which has turned political and received the attention of leaders. 

“We are avoiding politics, but when the prime minister, and politicians like Noh Omar (Selangor Umno liaison chief) issue statements if BN wins Selangor, the team could use the Shah Alam stadium, then the issue is being politicised,” he said.

The group also said it did not want to draw on any politician’s support to get back the stadium or speculate how fans will vote.

“What we see is that political parties are taking advantage (of the situation). If they want to help, they should just do it. Not make promises.

“We appreciate help but not when people try to play political football at our expense,” he said.

Firdaus said it launched a signature campaign and collected 15,000 signatures from their supporters in Selangor for the team to use the stadium.

“We have handed over the signatures to the exco about two weeks ago.”

Selangor executive councillor for sports development Amirudin Shaari said the saga between the two sides broke when the FAS did not show loyalty and respect to Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah when it boycotted and refused to release some players to join the Selangor Sultan Cup 2017.

Amirudin said it is disappointing because FAS should realise that the tournament is a nostalgic event for the sultan.

“I’ve spent a long time on this issue, and it is clear that this issue is prolonged because there are those in the association who want to politicise it,” Amirudin told The Malaysian Insight.

While Amirudin did not say it, it is common knowledge in the state’s sporting circles that many in the FAS committee are not of the same political affiliation as Azmin and the menteri besar has never had a comfortable time dealing with them when he helmed the association. He quit as FAS president in December 2016.

At that time, Azmin said the FAS executive council (exco) was bogged down by “excessive politics, the old-fashioned way of doing things and overdependency-on-subsidy mentality”.

“The FAS exco has failed to produce a strategic plan for managing Selangor football professionally as recommended by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in preparation for 2018 (full privatisation of the Malaysia League).”

FAS vice-president Abdul Rauf Ahmad, however, did not want to be drawn on this and maintained that the committee’s tiff with Azmin and the state government is purely sport.

He said it began in 2016 when Azmin fired the head coach at the time, Zainal Abidin Hassan, following Selangor’s poor performance in the Malaysia League during the season.

Rauf said the decision was made by Azmin and Amirudin without any discussion with the FAS exco.

It is normal for BN to draw on the sizeable football fan voter base, he said.

“We who are in the football association as much as possible want to be neutral. But if our fans want to vote BN over this issue and want to change (the government), it is their right.” – February 13, 2018.