Monday, January 11, 2010

AT WHAT PRICE SIR


Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek bore a startled look when this blogger asked him about the proposed attachment stint for the footballers.

The question posed to the Minister was, " is there any link between the organisors of the CYC and the proposed attachment stint for footballers initiated by you"?

His response was startling to say the least as he neither confirmed nor denied the link.

"This is something I cannot talk about right now as I am meeting up with the FAM President in London this week. I am not saying anything about the people who are helping me out.

When posed with a second question " are you sure that this stint has nothing to do with the CYC organisors and is part of the settlement deal for aborting the event two years ago", this was the response:

" I cannot reveal much at this stage but am in the midst of negotiating with some parties. The settlement deal is history but I am not saying that we are not getting some help from certain personalities. What makes you think that it is the CYC organisers that are assisting me?

When told that his statement that not only was England the destination but other European clubs as well, and this got us thinking, this was the retort-

" How come no one posed this question to me before. Yes Europe will be a destination for some players, but you will have to wait for the deal to come through before we announce the details. As I said I need to check and brief HRH Sultan of Pahang first and seek his consent.''

For the record, the CYC was cancelled after its first edition that cost the Malaysian government RM17 million during Dato Azalina Othman tenure as Sports Minister. It was then cancelled when Dato Ismail Sabri assumed office and half of the RM17 million organisation fee was paid.

The orgnisors threatened a suit and were seeking RM35 million as breach of contract and god knows what happened as the case has gone cold ever since.

It is an open secret that there is more then what meets the eye with regards to this attachment scheme as it is not easy to open doors of the clubs in England,let alone in Europe.

But what was most worrying was for the stint in Slovakia, the Minister went on record on Astro Awani on Sunday to say tha he was seeking the assistance of FAM physical trainer.

If that is the case Minister, then why are you not seeking the opinion of personalities like Lim Teong Kim, Windsor John Paul and Dato Paul Mony to help open some doors in Germany, urope and Asian countries?

Why the different approach towards things and the change of tone when confronted with the facts on dealing with an organisation that had walked away with Malaysian tax payers money.

It would have been easier if you had denied the suggestion right away but the fact that you remained evasive tells us that there is some truth to the matter, as the saying goes, no smoke without fire.

What are the unseen hands hard at work to ensure that this stint happens and why the obsession with it? Has it to do with the fact that you want to be one up against detractors, as you told some within your fraternity, that you want to shut the media and bloggers who are opposed to the in the first place.

And it could well re-open if the evasiveness of the Minister has anything to do with it. It is believed that the Minister is going to London at his own cost, together with Dato Seri Tony Fernandes and Dato Mukhriz Mahathir.