Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah offered himself as a mediator today to mend the rift between the country's football governing body and another deputy president, Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
He said all parties should acknowledge Annuar's contributions in developing football in the country especially in Kelantan. "We also need to see whether the decision will jeopardise the good work done by Annuar in developing football in Kelantan and whether the Kelantan Football Association would be affected.
"It is my hope that we can focus on mitigation factors in resolving the matter amicably for the betterment of the Malaysian football," he said in a statement.
The FAM Disciplinary Committee on April 4 suspended Annuar, who is Kelantan FA president, for 30 months from any football activities either at the national or state level after finding him guilty of making negative press statement about national squad.
According to FAM regulations, only the president and secretary-general are allowed to issue statements on national team. Tengku Abdullah said he was taken aback by the decision but expressed confidence that the committee had strived to do their job to the best of their ability. "I truly believe that the due process of the law has been complied with," he said.
Tengku Abdullah also said that his statement during the FAM executive committee meeting on Feb 4, was not a directive but an advice to FAM officials on the importance of complying with the country's football governing body's constitution.
The Feb 4 meeting decided that the FAM affairs should not be divulged to the media and need to be discussed in the FAM executive committee.
- Bernama
