FAM sec-gen defends against Tunku Ismail’s criticisms

PETALING JAYA: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin has defended the association against a slew of criticism by Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) football club owner Tunku Ismail Tunku Ibrahim.
Hamidin denied Tunku Ismail's allegations that four national players who had quit the team did so because their wellbeing was neglected, insisting that FAM has always prioritised players' welfare.
"The statement that FAM does not take care of the welfare of national players is completely untrue as all their needs are provided for including hotel accommodation, clothes, food and transportation to the training grounds," he said in a statement on the FAM website.
He added that the players also receive a daily allowance and match bonuses for their entire duration in the central training camp.
"If players are injured during the central training camp, there are doctors and physiotherapists on hand and if they need to undergo treatment at the hospital, they are sent there immediately," he said.
In response to other allegations by Tunku Ismail that FAM is tainted by "30 years of corruption", Hamidin stressed that FAM does not condone the culture of corruption and has even established an Integrity Committee to monitor the entire administration.
On Monday, the Johor Crown Prince claimed that he had a pendrive containing information related to FAM such as the media personnel that it always uses, the amount of money allegedly taken by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership and given to FAM as well as a "rubbish auditor's report".
Hamidin said the association will be sending letters to the four players to ask them to hand in their resignation letters and the reasons behind their decision.
He also added that he is prepared to sit down with Tunku Ismail to discuss these issues, with a common intention to improve national football.
Yesterday, a list of problems affecting the national team and the management was released on the JDT official Facebook page, allegedly received from sources within FAM.
Among the key issues plaguing the national team were poor quality of coaches, inefficient selection of players at the league level, young players not receiving enough exposure, long training camps and match manipulation and match fixing problems which are not addressed by FAM.
The list also claimed that FAM is "old fashioned" in football management, the administration lacks quality staff and the management has no interest to improve.
The other problems plaguing the management were poor crisis management, unnecessary expenditure and an overpaid salary of local and national team coaches, among others.