KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh hopes Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria will reconsider his decision to step down as president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) by the end of this month.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, this morning, Hannah said the Road to Gold (RTG) programme was set up to survive abrupt changes in the ministry and Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
Norza and Hannah are co-chairs of the high-performance programme.
“Having said that, I do hope Tan Sri Norza will reconsider his decision to step down as BAM president at the end of this year.
“The Paris Olympics are just months away and badminton forms the majority block of participating athletes in the RTG set-up.
“We need focus and minimised disruption during such crucial preparation time,” read the post.
Norza, who is also OCM president, initially planned to relinquish his position in BAM after the Paris Olympics in August 2024.
However, Norza decided to expedite his departure from the top post after finding a suitable candidate to take his place.
In September, Scoop broke the news that Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was set to take over at BAM, which was later confirmed by Norza in October.
Norza has helmed BAM since 2017. – December 12, 2023