Santokh slams poor maintenance culture after national stadium debacle
The waterlogged pitch at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium last week, with workers seen trying to remove stagnant water on the pitch with dustpans. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The poor state of the pitch at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium has once again highlighted the lack of a maintenance culture by those running the venue, says former national football star Santokh Singh.
Heavy rain prior to kickoff during last week’s 2023 Asian Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Bahrain quickly saw the pitch waterlogged, with stadium staff seen removing stagnant water from the field with dustpans and cardboards in a video that has gone viral on social media.
Describing the culture of management at the stadium as “rubbish”, Santokh, who played for the national side in the 1970s and 1980s, recounted how Spanish giants Barcelona called off a friendly at the same stadium in 2013 after finding the pitch “unplayable”.
“We are talking about our national stadium, not a state stadium. Why can’t it be maintained properly?,” he told FMT, adding that some state and club fields are well maintained in comparison.
Santokh Singh.
“How can teams play football on a pitch like that? Why should the stadium officials have to buy the latest equipment? Why waste money on equipment? I think some of them (stadium staff) don’t even know how to handle the equipment.
“It’s better to buy some cows and get them to graze there. They can do a better job,” he said.
The 2013 friendly between Barcelona and a Malaysian League XI, which was organised by an agency under the tourism ministry, almost did not take place when the Spanish giants refused to play in the Bukit Jalil National Stadium having gone there for some training the day before the match.
The Barcelona management told the press after the training session that they “could not compromise the well-being of our players”.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) noted that Barcelona were unhappy that parts of the pitch were not even, with then youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin calling the incident an “embarrassment for the country’s reputation”.
The game was eventually played at Stadium Shah Alam.
Mismanagement, lack of ‘right people’
Thomas Samuel, the honorary secretary of the Ex-State & Ex-National Footballers Association Malaysia, said that last week’s incident is just the latest chapter in the country’s “never-ending story of bad management”.
Stating that while professional and competent individuals are hired to fill certain roles, interference by executives who have no sports background has resulted in the poor development of sports and the lack of attention paid to maintaining facilities.
“Here in Malaysia, you pay a huge sum to hire a professional even before he or she achieves the desired results. More often than not, there is interference by the ‘who’s who’ for their own interest or ego,” Samuel said.
“Please go ahead and agree on a remuneration, but put in place the key performance indicators (KPIs) along the way before the final bounty is given.
“The fact that shovels and cardboards were used to clear the water on the field speaks volumes about the person employed to manage this,” he said.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general Windsor John mirrored Samuel’s comments, stating that the “right people” must be allowed to take care of facilities and be given the right tools and support to carry out their jobs.
After the match against Bahrain, John told Berita Harian he was disappointed with the pitch and the “unsuitable tools” used to dispose of the stagnant water, adding that the AFC might not allow matches to be played at the stadium until the pitch is improved.
“Like in any kind of facility, we need to have the right people managing it. They should also be given the support, tools, budget and whatever else needed,” he told FMT when asked what should be done to improve the pitch’s condition.
“That’s about it, there is no magic answer.”
PETALING JAYA: The poor state of the pitch at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium has once again highlighted the lack of a maintenance culture by those running the venue, says former national football star Santokh Singh.
Heavy rain prior to kickoff during last week’s 2023 Asian Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Bahrain quickly saw the pitch waterlogged, with stadium staff seen removing stagnant water from the field with dustpans and cardboards in a video that has gone viral on social media.
Describing the culture of management at the stadium as “rubbish”, Santokh, who played for the national side in the 1970s and 1980s, recounted how Spanish giants Barcelona called off a friendly at the same stadium in 2013 after finding the pitch “unplayable”.
“We are talking about our national stadium, not a state stadium. Why can’t it be maintained properly?,” he told FMT, adding that some state and club fields are well maintained in comparison.
Santokh Singh.“How can teams play football on a pitch like that? Why should the stadium officials have to buy the latest equipment? Why waste money on equipment? I think some of them (stadium staff) don’t even know how to handle the equipment.
“It’s better to buy some cows and get them to graze there. They can do a better job,” he said.
The 2013 friendly between Barcelona and a Malaysian League XI, which was organised by an agency under the tourism ministry, almost did not take place when the Spanish giants refused to play in the Bukit Jalil National Stadium having gone there for some training the day before the match.
The Barcelona management told the press after the training session that they “could not compromise the well-being of our players”.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) noted that Barcelona were unhappy that parts of the pitch were not even, with then youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin calling the incident an “embarrassment for the country’s reputation”.
The game was eventually played at Stadium Shah Alam.
Mismanagement, lack of ‘right people’
Thomas Samuel, the honorary secretary of the Ex-State & Ex-National Footballers Association Malaysia, said that last week’s incident is just the latest chapter in the country’s “never-ending story of bad management”.
Stating that while professional and competent individuals are hired to fill certain roles, interference by executives who have no sports background has resulted in the poor development of sports and the lack of attention paid to maintaining facilities.
“Here in Malaysia, you pay a huge sum to hire a professional even before he or she achieves the desired results. More often than not, there is interference by the ‘who’s who’ for their own interest or ego,” Samuel said.
“Please go ahead and agree on a remuneration, but put in place the key performance indicators (KPIs) along the way before the final bounty is given.
“The fact that shovels and cardboards were used to clear the water on the field speaks volumes about the person employed to manage this,” he said.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general Windsor John mirrored Samuel’s comments, stating that the “right people” must be allowed to take care of facilities and be given the right tools and support to carry out their jobs.
After the match against Bahrain, John told Berita Harian he was disappointed with the pitch and the “unsuitable tools” used to dispose of the stagnant water, adding that the AFC might not allow matches to be played at the stadium until the pitch is improved.
“Like in any kind of facility, we need to have the right people managing it. They should also be given the support, tools, budget and whatever else needed,” he told FMT when asked what should be done to improve the pitch’s condition.
“That’s about it, there is no magic answer.”
It is the result of appointing people based on connection rathar than merit.
ReplyDeleteThis is the bane of Malaysia.
And we read of Tahi-yuddin confirming that he will be the Ambassador to Indonesia. This, despite the protests and objections from many prominent people.
Turtle egg is truly turtle egg!!
Surely this is the result of the Harapan Government.
ReplyDelete