Thursday, September 06, 2007

MALAYSIA: Clubs uneasy with MTA’s conditions

2007/07/28

THE Malaysia Taekwondo Clubs Association (MTCA) wants the Malaysia Taekwondo Association (MTA) to review its request for clubs to join the national body based on its terms and conditions.

"We laud the decision of Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said to re-register the MTA but there are several issues which MTA president Ho Kham Phaw raised that need to be addressed and clarified.

"We also beg to differ with Kham Phaw’s statement that the MTCA is not a recognised body as we are registered with the Sports Commissioner’s Office under the Sports Development Act (1997).

"Our registration was approved by Tan Sri Elyas Omar on July 1, 2005 and our constitution states that the MTCA is the controlling body for all taekwondo clubs in Malaysia," said MTCA president Chee Hock Choong in a statement yesterday.

"While we may not be a member of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), we are legally registered in accordance with the laws of Malaysia."

The primary reason for the creation of the MTCA was to give taekwondo clubs an umbrella to shelter under following the deregistration of the MTA on May 6, 2005.

"While the initial members of MTCA were former associate members of MTA, our membership has been growing steadily and as the controlling body of taekwondo clubs in Malaysia, MTCA is now the legal body to develop taekwondo at the clubs level in the country," said Chee, adding that a thriving club structure, which taekwondo has, was also the vision of Azalina’s and that the MTCA is actually the first national level club association.

"However, I would like to stress that MTCA is ever willing to work with anybody to develop taekwondo in Malaysia but, again, I have to refute the MTA president’s statement that no conditions have been attached for clubs rejoining it.

Former associate members received a document from MTA inviting them to rejoin by July 31, 2007, which by itself is a condition as it was stated that failure to do so would be deemed that the associate members are not interested in rejoining MTA.

The document also came with 10 other conditions, among which was: "That an associate member’s privileges shall be decided by the MTA Council from time to time."

Given their fraught relationship previously, this condition, among several others, had made the MTCA and its affiliates uneasy, he said. — Bernama


source: http://www.nst.com.my

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