PETALING JAYA – Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, demands that the Selangor state government focus on developing sports like hockey rather than overly prioritising football.
It was reported that the Selangor state government allocated a total of RM19 million from its RM2.53 billion state budget spending plan.
The Selangor State Sports Council is set to receive RM8 million to reinforce the state’s holistic sports development approach, with an additional RM1 million earmarked for the state e-sports team.
However, the lion’s share of RM10 million has been allocated to Selangor FC for its preparation for the upcoming 2024/2025 Malaysia Super League season and the AFC Asian Champions League 2 competition.
Despite being less popular than football, Subahan insists that hockey deserves equal priority to prevent wasting young talent and loss of interest in the sport.
He said despite his repeated pleas to state government leaders over the years, he is disappointed at the lack of additional commitments made for improving Selangor hockey.
“Selangor is by far one of the richest states in the country, but one thing always keeps lingering in my mind…why has the state government not been showing enough support for hockey and other sports compared to football?
“During the seven years (2009-2015) when I was the president of the Selangor Hockey Association, the Selangor Hockey League was going well.
“But the biggest issue I had during that time was funding, and it was difficult to find it. During that time, I even had to use RM80,000 of my own money out of love and passion for the game to keep the league running,” he said at the 2024 TNB-QNET Selangor Hockey League launch (SHL) here yesterday.
Admitting that hockey may not be the number one sport, Subahan believes that it can provide a platform for youngsters to play and also instil a lot of good values in them.
As such, he intends to arrange another meeting with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to advocate for increased support from the state government in organising tournaments and foster the growth of the sport.
“I’m not hoping for him to allocate much for hockey, but to never alienate the growth of hockey in Selangor.
“I believe that around RM35 to 40 million is being spent on Selangor football regularly, but for hockey, the state government only gives RM40,000 a year.
“This should not be the case; they should at least allocate RM100,000 to RM200,000, and with that money, a lot of activities can be done. The money is not to be pocketed but to organise tournaments,” he added.
Subahan also expressed disappointment with the lack of care taken by the Selangor State Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneurship Committee in maintaining hockey facilities across the state, emphasising the importance of proper infrastructure for the sport to thrive.
“Most of the hockey stadiums in Selangor are not in a condition that can be used.
“It’s a shame for the state team to rent out the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium for training when they should have a proper facility.
“I’m a true child of Selangor, and back in the days, I have seen so many talents from the state. But today, even organising a tournament and finding a venue is very troublesome.
“I humbly request the state government to redevelop the infrastructure so that we can have more players playing hockey.
“If Kelantan can do it, why can’t we? Why is Selangor always behind? If Terengganu can assemble a team in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL), what about Selangor? We need to start seeing a change in hockey in this state.
“I’m sick and tired of always sending back-to-back letters, and the situations have yet to change over the years. But Alhamdulillah, we have good corporates like QNET Group to help the youth of Selangor through hockey tournaments to elevate the sport in this state,” Subahan added.
The return of the SHL, held from yesterday until June 2, after a five-year hiatus is seen as an opportunity to unearth new hockey talents in the country.
The league, to be held at the Pandamaran hockey stadium in Klang, will be contested in three divisions and is open to all age groups. – April 21, 2024