FMT:

Wrong for BAM, Zii Jia to put price tag on Malaysia

Lazarus Rokk-16 Apr 2024, 07:00 AM

Representing the country should be a mandatory honour.

67

SHARES

Total Views: 7,615

Recalcitrant Lee Zii Jia is not making much headway as an independent player, but he is certainly winning the big matches against the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), whom he taunts and teases at will, to get his desired results.

Friday’s decision by the insecure national body to pay a compensation fee to the enigmatic professional player so that the latter can pull on the Malaysian shirt for the Thomas Cup Finals later this month must surely go down in Malaysian badminton history as a most ludicrous call.

Let’s not even get into the patriotic element, as Zii Jia probably has no comprehension of the essence of that word, let alone be able to spell it. But we have known for some time already that his inclinations have always been to favour himself rather than the nation.

And let’s not be taken in by that statement from Team LZJ stating that he feels more honour wearing a shirt that has Malaysia on its back than his own name.

If that was the case, Team LZJ wouldn’t have had to sit across the table with BAM negotiating terms of engagement, and I wouldn’t have had to write this column. If nothing else, it was a good attempt at intellectual posturing by the team.

Besides, Zii Jia, although not the only independent player in this situation, was the only one who has put his country and monetary gains on weighing scales. Let the record show that it was money that had tipped his scales.

True patriots like Viktor Axelson (Denmark), P V Sindhu (India), Tai Su-Ying (Chinese Taipei) and several Indonesians, all of whom are contracted to sponsors different from their respective national teams, however, didn’t allow that to come into conflict with their patriotism towards their respective countries.

If Zii Jia was conflicted by his personal contract, then he should have worked that out with his sponsors, Victor.

But now in the wake of Zii Jia’s act of defiance, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) may be compelled to shed clearer light on Clause 27.1 of their constitution.

Clause 27.1 states that under no circumstances may a player be offered or paid money or goods to play matches other than exhibition matches (as defined in regulation 2.8) except what is paid to a player as prize money.

A clarification from BWF would seem to be in order.

But my main grouse is not as much with the recalcitrant player than it is with the inexperienced leadership of BAM, specifically with its president Norza Zakaria, whom I have had the benefit of knowing in a personal capacity.

The Norza that I am familiar with is shrewd, calculative, discerning, and given his chartered accountancy and successful business background, would have played hardball at the negotiating table, and swiftly dismissed Zii Jia as a liability unworthy of any kind of compensation.

Unverified reports from informed sources claim that the initial demand for compensation from Team LZJ was RM50,000 per match, which would be a minimum of RM150,000 for three matches in the group stage. But it was negotiated down to RM20,000 per match instead.

Still, no one in his or her right mind will even pay him RM100 to wear the Malaysian colours, simply because with or without Zii Jia, Malaysia will not get very far in this Thomas Cup with this dysfunctional team.

So, it must seem evident then that Norza and his negotiating team must have believed when they made that outlandish decision that this enigmatic and relative failure could play a pivotal role in Malaysia’s success in Chengdu, China.

I didn’t think, not even for a moment, that Norza would give in to a player who would negotiate a price for patriotism. The Norza I am familiar with, would have sworn at him with his inner voice but politely and gladly showed Team LZJ, the nearest exit.

Someone with strong badminton DNA should have advised both Norza, and his administration director, Michelle Chai – neither of whom have badminton DNA – to look beyond Zii Jia and name their best junior singles player for national duty instead.

And it’s not that it hasn’t been done before. In 1975, the Mohamed Khir Johari-led BAM rested the entire 1970 squad that comprised Tan Aik Huang, Punch Gunalan, Abdul Rahman, Tan Yee Khan- Ng Boon Bee and Tan Aik Mong.

And in came, debutants for the 1976 Thomas Cup finals in Bangkok, Saw Swee Leong, James Selvaraj, Phua Ah Hua, Moo Foot Lian, and Dominic Soong-Cheah Hong Chong. They had nothing under their belts but fire and steel in their young bellies, and a yen to seek glory for Malaysia.

For them, it was enough. No one expected them to get past the preliminary stages. But they made it to the semi-finals, facing Denmark and the legendary Svend Pri, Fleming Delfs and Elo Hansen. The form books had Denmark and Indonesia in the final. But these young Malaysian bucks tore the form books, beating the formidable Danes 5-4 for a showdown with Indonesia.

The Indonesians led by the iconic Rudy Hartono, Liem Siew King, Tjun Tjun-Johan Wahudi, and Christian Hadinata-Ade Chandra, were just too overwhelming for the awestruck Malaysian juniors. But the mission was accomplished. The Malaysians left with nothing to Bangkok, but returned with the runners-up medal and Denmark’s famous scalp.

BAM could learn from its own proud history the wisdom of trusting in our young.

But with spilt milk presumably being unsavoury and certainly not worth shedding tears over, BAM may want to start taking pre-emptive steps instead to prevent a recurrence, and a similar embarrassing situation where the national body is browbeaten by mercenaries.

I am just astounded by Michelle’s failure to have seen this coming and taken preventive measures, given her long and intimate relationship with football that has spanned through Malaysia, the Middle East, and the Asian Football Confederation.

Football doesn’t have this problem simply because FIFA has ironed out these contractual nuances and nuisances too, with clear regulations on equipment brands and shirt sponsorships that don’t put players in conflict with their respective national associations.

Which is why you wouldn’t hear of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi having issues over this with Portugal and Argentina, respectively.

Michelle and BAM could take a leaf out of football and put a handle on this clash of brands, because there has been a precedent, failing which the national body can expect to be back at the negotiation table, and looking embarrassed.

The last thing we all want to see is for our beloved country to be an option for mercenaries, and not a mandatory honour, when Malaysia needs them.