KUALA LUMPUR – Outgoing Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president, Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, believes that his successor, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, is the right person to elevate the sport to even greater heights.
Norza said he was optimistic that a forward-thinking leader like Tengku Zafrul was well-equipped to lead the association and build upon his six-year legacy.
“Even though I was supposed to seek re-election in 2025, I decided to retire from this position early and proposed the idea of having Tengku Zafrul as my successor to the council.
“Tengku Zafrul possesses all the necessary qualities to be the right successor to my role. He has an extensive understanding of the sport and the ability to attract more corporate support to the association through his expertise.
“I deeply admire his passion for the sport, and he is the ideal person to take this sport to new heights in Malaysia.
“We haven’t finalised the exact date for his takeover, but it will happen once I have completed some of my remaining duties for BAM,” Norza said during the launch of the Road to NCT Junior Badminton Championship today.
Norza also expressed his hope that the new leadership will continue and expand the ongoing initiatives undertaken by the badminton body in the years to come.
“When we look at the past, especially before I assumed leadership, we were only celebrating victories, largely driven by Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s success in tournaments he played every two weeks.
“When Chong Wei retired, we started to see a performance gap in our players on the international stage.
“God willing, we managed to address this by not only developing more players within BAM but also nurturing many independent players over the years.
“This initiative needs to be sustained and expanded by the incoming leadership. I also hope that Zafrul can engage with various grassroots and professional clubs in Malaysia that are passionate and willing to contribute more players to the association.
“We should not confine our focus to just the 15 state associations; BAM has to also collaborate with these badminton clubs.
“I anticipate that these initiatives will be continued by (Tengku) Zafrul. Moreover, as the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, I hope we can witness a gold medalist in the Olympics and win the Thomas Cup in the years to come,” Norza added.
On October 12, BAM announced the appointment of the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry as its new president, and Tengku Zafrul is expected to assume the role of BAM president at the end of the year.
The association added that the specific timeline for Zafrul’s transition will be discussed internally and announced during the next council meeting in December. – November 2, 2023