KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria believes his successor, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, will have an easier task leading the national badminton governing body, thanks to key improvements introduced in recent years.
Mohamad Norza said BAM’s collaboration with PEMANDU Associates, which was initiated during his presidency from 2017 to last year, as among a crucial foundation for future progress which will be beneficial for the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry.
“Now, you have an independent party (PEMANDU Associates) that look into the operations of BAM and identify the gaps between where we want to be and where we are.
“This gap actually is the one that Tengku Zafrul needs to fill so that we can actually enhance or strengthen the current governance,” he told reporters after the 80th BAM Annual General Meeting here, today.
Not only that, Mohamad Norza said the separation of roles between BAM as the governing body and the Akademi Badminton Malaysia as a high-performance centre, along with the recruitment of key professionals including the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, currently held by Amelia Gan, has laid a solid foundation.
Mohamad Norza believes that Tengku Zafrul ticks all the right boxes to lead BAM, noting that the corporate figure is not only young but also well-connected, particularly with sponsors.
In the meantime, Mohamad Norza hoped that Tengku Zafrul would help BAM not only in the pursuit of the elusive Olympic gold medal but also in producing more world champions, particularly from departments beyond the men’s doubles.
In 2022, the national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik made history by becoming the first Malaysians to be crowned as the world champions in Tokyo.
Mohamad Norza also wants to see Malaysia rise as one of the world’s top three badminton powerhouses and to recapture the prestigious Thomas Cup, which was last won in 1992.
“The way forward is just to be the top three in the world but to be up there you have to beat China, Japan, South Korea, and to a certain extent, Indonesia, right?
“So, how you fill this gap is by getting a new leader, by getting fresh ideas and new way forward, assisted by the two deputies,” he said.
Earlier today, Tengku Zafrul decorated the number one seat of BAM after being unanimously elected unopposed at the election held in conjunction of the AGM of the national badminton governing body, here.
Tengku Zafrul, who is the 13th president of BAM, also announced that former acting president of BAM Datuk V. Subramaniam has been reappointed as deputy president 1 while Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos will remain as deputy president 2. — Bernama
