MANY PROUD OF MALAYSIA'S POSITION UNDER HAMIDIN'S LEADERSHIP - ZAINAL ABIDIN

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Bernama) -- Amid the buzz surrounding the position of the president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), national football legend Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan believes that Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin deserves to continue holding the top seat of the governing body.

The former prolific striker of the Harimau Malaya squad in the 80s and 90s said that from the perspective of football progress, the national team have shown rapid positive changes even in a short time since Hamidin took charge of FAM in July 2018.

He said that the success of the Harimau Malaya under Kim Pan Gon to qualify on merit for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar last January, and the second consecutive appearance of the Under-23 (U-23) team in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, are among the evidence of progress achieved under Hamidin's leadership.

bootstrap slideshow

"If there are those who want change, I don't know, but in my view, many supporters are very proud of Malaysia's standing. We qualified on merit for the Asian Cup after more than 40 years, and the U-23 squad have been consistent in reaching the AFC U-23 Asian Cup during FAM's leadership under him (Hamidin).

"After decades when (the national team's) performance is finally improving, suddenly there are those who want drastic changes, not wanting to follow a good progress path. It's unfair to sideline him (Hamidin) because, for me, in terms of football growth, he has been successful so far," he told Bernama when contacted here.

At the same time, the 62-year-old former Selangor and Pahang player believes Hamidin's credibility is also recognised globally after he was elected as a Council Member of FIFA for the 2023-2027 term.

Hamidin is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and was appointed Chairman of the AFC Finance Committee.

"This means world football leaders also appreciate him (Hamidin), so why don't we? So give him the opportunity to continue improving Malaysian football further," said Zainal, who has a long list of individual titles and championships with clubs and the national team at both domestic and international levels.

Zainal is also among seven national legends recognised and listed in the FIFA Century Club, a special group for players with 100 or more international appearances.

Earlier, there were calls for Hamidin to resign, with claims that his performance as president was unsatisfactory following the issue of a poison-pen letter that criticised FAM's leadership and management in late March.

Recently, local media linked several names with the FAM president position, including the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and former Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, both of whom have experience with FAM.

Two corporate leaders, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman, Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din and Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) Group Managing Director, Datuk Kapten Izham Ismail, were also mentioned for the top FAM position.

Khairy and Tengku Zafrul have expressed disinterest in the position, citing their current commitments and responsibilities, while Mohamad Salim declined to comment on the matter.

The FAM Election Congress for the 2025-2029 term is scheduled for next year.

-- BERNAMA