Only four days to go before the big day!
Yes we’re talking about the crucial Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)’s elections that will give us a new FAM president this Saturday. The election will take place on the 25th of March, and board members will vote for a new president, as well as other committee members who will helm FAM starting from 2017 until 2021.
The ‘main event’ battle continues between the Johor Crown Prince, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, and former Kelantan FA (KAFA) President Tan Sri Annuar Musa — both vying for the post of president.
Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, or TMJ, as he is fondly known, is clearly the crowd favourite. TMJ has been actively campaigning for his cause, he has met with important figures and also held a meet-the-fans session in Grand Hyatt last month. Local football fans were given a chance to address their concerns straight to the Crown Prince himself, and he won them over with his witty and sarcastic remarks.
Tan Sri Annuar Musa, on the other hand, is bogged down with financial scandals and is spending most of his time refuting them on social media. Apart from one manifesto he posted in February 2017, there has no active follow up to his vision for FAM.
Although it might seem like TMJ is the popular choice, we cannot underestimate Tan Sri Annuar’s chances of winning, and former Malaysian right back Datuk Jamal Nasir Ismail shares the same sentiment.
He agrees that campaign-wise, TMJ has been more aggressive, more present, but Tan sri Annuar Musa has more experience with FAM, as he once served as vice-president. Therefore, according to Datuk Jamal, Tan Sri Annuar Musa will have a better idea of FAM’s strengths and weaknesses, and how to fix them.
“Yes, TMJ may be successful running his club (Johor DT), but running a club and managing a national governing body is not the same.” Datuk Jamal added.
“Seems like everyone wants TMJ to win, but for me, it looks like a 50-50 chance for both candidates.” he told HMetro.
So who’s it going to be? The young, sassy one? Or the older, experienced one? Let us know!
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