MALAYSIA BOLEH!!

I'm looking forward for Malaysia XI - Manchester United clash tomorrow as it might stand as a platform to rebuild the confidence in Malaysian football that once feared as one of the most leading football nations in Asia ahead of South Korea and Japan.

But what happened now! Things were very different back then, which saw the rise of a new generation of players that later become the household names like Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, R. Arumugam (also known as Spiderman) and Santokh Singh.

Malaysian football was at glory when tens of thousands of people flooded the stadium each and every time the national team was playing. They had qualified for 1980 Olympics that now seems like a mountain to climb. I'm not talking down the potential of Malaysian football, but trying to be realistic.

The era has now changed, in order to build a competent football team, the players must be trained as early as 5 years old, and the basics of football should be applied technically or tactically as the saying goes," Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya". Yet, no one could be blamed. Parents always wanted the best for their children and they would go for education rather than sport. In a sense, this may proved to be a wise decision, when education could guarantee a bright future, why should they go for sport that seems nowhere near there especially in Malaysia. However, in Europe or even some other parts of Asia, the thing goes the other way. While education is the priority amongst the children, sport is still being a primary concern for the parents. In fact, education and sport complement each other. Some people may still baffle of why can't we do the same? The answer is simple; it has something to do with our educational system. This might be a dissenting opinion, but we have the right to have a voice on something, right?

Our system might have been too exam-oriented. Students who excel in academic will be considered as bright students and it went the other way for those who are not. I'm not denying the fact that some students who do well in sports still get the privilege but not as wide open as students who excel academically. The government should implement the policy that gives balance between academic and sports because people are not the same. Some of them may be really advanced in studies but not really well in sports, and vice versa. So by balancing the gap, it will be fair for everyone and may be a good move in reinstalling the glory in our sports that seem to go ‘south’. By doing this, parents’ perception could be changed by encouraging their children towards sports but at the same time still giving the priority on education. This is my point when JPA officer once asked me about Malaysian educational system during the interview, and I was assailed by the other interviewees once I voiced out my view. (hahaha)…but that’s my point. I have the right to talk, so do YOU.

By the way, I really hope that our young guns will at least try to match Red Devils and put an exuberant performance against them. This is football and everything could just happen!. We surprised Arsenal by beating them long time ago. So, why not we show to the world that our FOOTBALL is not dead. We can do it against Manchester United…

Malaysia XI 1- 1 Manchester United

MALAYSIA BOLEH!! 2X

Read more