On the ball: MAAU, as usual, not looking at bigger picture

IN what must be the clearest warning yet to national sports associations that this is the time for belt tightening, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) decided last week to provide its affiliates with a one-off grant.

The amount, considering what national sports associations (NSAs) normally operate on, isn't much as OCM approved RM6,000 for normal affiliates and RM4,000 for associate members.

The money is to be used for, among others, payment of the year's affiliation fee and other monies owed to OCM and the respective international federations.

Some have branded this as an election gimmick -- the new office bearers will be elected in May -- but the grant is in recognition of just how financially tough it is for some NSAs.

The National Sports Council (NSC) is working on a tight budget and this means it has to prioritise its spending, which has come as a shock to some NSAs.
They can't say they weren't warned though that the NSC gravy train would come to a halt, for they have and numerous times at that.

In fact, NSC's prioritised funding could well become a permanent feature and that is why it is surprising that Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim is irked with hurdler Noraseela Khalid.

Shahidan is unhappy that Noraseela dealt directly with NSC in arranging her training-competition stint in South Africa.

Shahidan has said Noraseela must justify the stint by qualifying for the World Championships and surely, that is what the athlete is herself targeting.

Sure, Noraseela should have gone through the MAAU but rather than setting ultimatums, Shahidan should congratulate the athlete for knowing what she wants.

This is an obvious case of an athlete who doesn't have faith in her association but enjoys the confidence of the NSC, which had no qualms funding her.

This must be a confidence Shahidan shares for he is contemplating appointing Noraseela as the athletes' representative in MAAU board meetings.

Now, can we blame the athlete for making her own plans?

On one side, she has been rebuked for not getting MAAU's sanction and on the other, she is so valued that a place on the board is being offered.

So rather than being angry, Shahidan and MAAU should think of ways where more of their athletes can come under the NSC's priority category in these financially difficult times and maybe, just maybe, doom and gloom won't be the only things about athletics.

NST