LETTER | The going is tough - but the BAM president is missing

LETTER | While the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has made itself Public Enemy Number 1, what is not helping is the deafening silence from its president, Norza Zakaria.

If you noticed lately, all statements are coming from BAM as an organisation per se, while its president has been as quiet as a church mouse.

Flashback to when the players were achieving success, for example, the Olympic bronze medal win, you feel that Norza (photo, above) was the coach cum personal trainer of the medal winners. His face was plastered everywhere from online media to social media.

How do you measure a man? Well, when the going gets tough, the man is there to provide leadership and guidance. Since the announcement by his vice-president on Lee Zii Jia's two-year ban, Jahaberdeen Yunoos, who was a virtual unknown until that uneventful day, has taken a beating on all social media comment sections.

Shouldn't the BAM president take a lead in also announcing not so good news? Why leave it to your vice-president? During victory, was he invited for a photo op?

Where does this leave BAM, now with our Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu meeting both players and, if you have been following the political scene, a word from the minister and U-turn is in order for BAM.

If they were tough then, now is the time to show the toughness by standing on its own decision and not giving in, but…

I think BAM needs a proper leader. It is time for a former international player to head the committee, plus to also put at least state players in the posts of council members.

I am sure that many of them can replace the current members, some of whom, I assume, don't even know how to serve to the baseline.

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