BY LIM TEIK HUAT
Sunday May 8, 2005
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Taekwondo Association (MTA), who were de-registered by the Sports Commissioner's office on Friday, will leave it to their lawyers to decide on the next course of action.
Former MTA chairman Chin Mee Keong said the news that they had been de-registered came as a shock to them and felt there was no reason for the sports commissioner to take such drastic action.
Sports Commissioner Tan Sri Elyas Omar made the decision to de-register the association under Section 20 (1) of the Sports Development Act 1997, stating that the national body had become a “hindrance” to the development of the sport in the country.
Strangely enough, MTA's Elaine Two was named Sportswoman of the Year in March while Chin himself was given the Sports Leadership Award.
MTA have been given 30 days to appeal against the de-registration to the Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said.
MTA are affiliated to the Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).
“This decision to strike us off came as a surprise to us. There was no necessity to take this action,” said Mee Keong.
“The Sports Commissioner's office wanted us to amend the constitution and give clubs voting rights in the first place.
“We came to an agreement at that time and we were given time to work out the criteria by two months.
“But they have decided to take action all of a sudden,” he added.
Mee Keong said that the former office bearers of MTA had also made attempts to seek appointments with Azalina and the Sports Commissioner's office but had not been successful.
“We are not trying to fight the government. We are the national body and have been so for the last 30 years.”
MTA, who have 17 affiliated full members and 49 associate members, ran into problems because the associate members did not have voting rights.
The associate members then tried to fight for their rights by forming “associate clubs of MTA” and “associate clubs committee.”
MTA responded by firing the club's founder. MTA president Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali Seth and his deputy Datuk Mohd Nazim Abdul Razak subsequently stepped down last November.
On the question of what happens to their coaches and athletes in the national team now, Mee Keong said they would continue training as usual.
“We have about 30 days to consider on what grounds to appeal.
“We have to see how things go. It is possible some of the athletes may be thinking of going back to the states.”
The national taekwondo championships began yesterday at the Uniten Complex in Bangi. With MTA de-registered, the championships are now being organised by the Kuala Lumpur taekwondo association.
Source from http://www.thestar.com.my
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