KUALA LUMPUR: Winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim is ready to soar again after being recalled to the Harimau Malaya squad for the two Tier 1 international friendlies in China next month now that he has served out his month-long suspension in the Malaysia League (M-League).
A hugely relieved Mohamad Faisal said the support from the public, including his family members and Selangor FC teammates, played a big part in his effort to maintain his performance during the suspension period.
“I have not had time to rest since last December, so perhaps it (the suspension) is Allah’s way of granting me some time off to re-energise or (recover from) fatigue.
“I am now back and more energised. If everything goes according to plan, I will do my part as usual to help the team,” he said when met at the launch of the 2023 Merdeka Tournament here today.
Although lacking game time, Mohamad Faisal, who is also known as Mickey, is confident that it won’t have a big impact on his performance.
The 25-year-old, who marked his return to action by scoring a brace in Selangor’s 11-2 thrashing of Kelantan FC in a Super League match on Friday (Aug 25), is determined to do even better when Malaysia take on Syria (on Sept 6) and China (on Sept 9) in Chengdu.
“I have only played 45 minutes, the others may have featured in five matches (in the Super League) before that, but it’s not a problem for me. Syria and China are strong teams and we will have a fight on our hands, but I intend to do my best to see where we stand in terms of our performance and level of preparedness,” he said.
Mohamad Faisal was recently suspended from July 25 to Aug 23 by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)’s disciplinary committee for making an unauthorised statement to the media after a Super League match against Sabah in April.
According to decision, he was suspended for four months (July 25 to Nov 21), with a three-month suspended sentence subject to good behaviour for 12 months starting from Aug 24.
Earlier, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin officiated the launch of the Oct 13-Oct 17 Merdeka Tournament, which was also attended by some of the country’s footballing legends like Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Datuk Dollah Salleh, Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan and Datuk Santokh Singh, as well as the current batch of Harimau Malaya players.
Meanwhile, FAM also announced a one-year partnership with AEON Big (M) Sdn Bhd, which will begin after the Merdeka tournament kicks off on Oct 13.-Bernama
