KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh (pix) appealled to the President of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, to reconsider his decision to step down at the end of this year.
She said that the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is just a few months away, and badminton forms a majority bloc of athletes in the Road To Gold (RTG) programme.
“We need focus and minimised disruption during such a crucial preparation period,” she said in a post on her X page today.
She explained that RTG was established to withstand leadership changes in the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) or the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) by having two co-chairs.
“RTG has been set up to survive abrupt leadership changes in KBS or OCM by having two co-chairs. Having said that, I do hope my co-chair Tan Sri Norza will reconsider his decision to step down as BAM president by end of this year,” she said.
Last July, Norza, who is also the President of OCM, announced that he would leave BAM after the Paris Olympics. However, he surprised everyone a month later by announcing his resignation at the end of this year.
Speculations about the highest position in BAM was finally answered last October after the council members unanimously agreed to appoint the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz as BAM’s new president. –Bernama
