King Ghaz Reigned Over Golden Age In Sports

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's prowess in track and field was at its height under Tun Ghazali Shafie when he led the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU) for 26 years from 1962.

It was the golden era especially for the women athletes, namely Marina Chin, V. Angamah, Saik Oik Cum and Zaiton Othman, who dazzled on the track with their gutsy spirit and winning performances.

King Ghaz, as he was fondly referred to, also presided over the likes of "flying doctor" M. Jegathesan, who won in the 1966 Asiad in Bangkok, Ishtiaq Mobarak, who qualified for the semifinals of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Rabuan Pit, who won the Asian sprint gold in 1982 in New Delhi, and B. Rajkumar, who captured the 1986 Asian championships 800m gold in record-shattering style.

Inevitably, Ghazali's death yesterday at the age of 88 was mourned in sports circles.

His love for sports never waned, according to Datuk A. Vaithilingam, one of the longest-serving athletics officials now retired.

The infighting within the MAAU that led to the suspension of the national association by the Sports Commissioner in 2002 pained Ghazali so much so that he called Vaithilingam.

"Vaithi, can we both do something to clear the mess in MAAU now?" Ghazali asked Vaithilingam.

"At that time, he had already left the MAAU for 14 years but he was still concerned. He had full control, discipline, efficiency and mutual respect with democracy as his style," Vaithilingam said.

Ghazali launched a five-year development plan for athletics in 1967 and, by 1972, every state in Malaysia had qualified coaches and officials and all-weather tracks were constructed in most states.

"Those were wonderful years. His interest in the welfare of athletes was always inspiring. During his tenure, Malaysia had a team of golden girls in Angamah, Oik Cum, Marina and Zaiton and we also had Kamaruddin Mydin and Nashatar Singh," Vaithilingam said.

Oik Cum, the lanky young athlete who stunned the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games for the 400m gold medal, has fond memories.

"He was a good leader and very caring," said Oik Cum, who works with a bank here.

Jegathesan, now deputy president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, said Malaysian athletics had plenty to thank Ghazali for.

"During that time, athletes were amateurs and officials were volunteers. Sometimes, he forked out his own money to help us because there was no National Sports Council then.

"The MAAU really depended on his connections and, under King Ghaz, it was truly the golden years," Jegathesan said.

-- BERNAMA

Ghazali Shafie meninggal dunia

GHAZALI (dua dari kanan) bersama Tun Mahathir dan Tun Musa Hitam bersama bekas Presiden Indonesia, Suharto dalam satu pertemuan di Kuala Lumpur pada tahun 1983.

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KUALA LUMPUR - Bekas Menteri Dalam Negeri, Tun Ghazali Shafie, 88, meninggal dunia akibat sakit tua di kediamannya di Subang Jaya dekat sini kira-kira 7.45 malam tadi.
Ghazali yang dilahirkan di Kuala Lipis, Pahang pada 22 Mac 1922 meninggalkan dua orang anak lelaki iaitu Bachtiaer, 53, dan Sheriffudin, 47.
Isteri beliau Toh Puan Khatijah Abdul Majid telah meninggal dunia pada April 2008.
Ghazali merupakan ahli politik pada era Perdana Menteri pertama, Tunku Abdul Rahman hinggalah era Perdana Menteri keempat, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad iaitu dari 1970-1984.
Beliau memainkan peranan penting dalam pembentukan Malaysia apabila menjadi penasihat tetap Suruhanjaya Cobbold bagi meninjau pendapat rakyat Sabah dan Sarawak untuk menyertai Malaysia.

Ro Bin among five inducted into OCM Hall of Fame

PETALING JAYA: Former Asian Games gold medallists Ho Ro Bin and Lim Keng Liat are among five outstanding former athletes and officials who will be inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame.

Ro Bin is the most successful Malaysian wushu athlete to date. He was the country’s first gold medal in the sport at the 2002 Busan Asiad. He also emerged as the world champion twice – in 1999 and 2005.
In the SEA Games between 1999 and 2005, Ro Bin won a total of three gold medals before retiring from competition in 2006 to become a coach.

Keng Liat is the most outstanding Malaysian swimmer and he is only one to have won an Asian Games gold medal in the sport — in Bangkok in 1998.

2009 IOC Trophy ‘Sport and the Fight against Doping’

"The Olympic Council of Malaysia selected Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan, to be the recipient of the 2009 IOC Trophy ‘Sport and the Fight against Doping’. The Trophy will be presented at the 17th OCM Annual Dinner on 16th January 2010.

Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan is the Deputy President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) since 2002 and has been in the forefront of the fight against doping since he became a member of the Sports Medicine Committee of the OCM in the 80’s. He is the present Chairman of the Medical Committee of OCM and adviser to the Medical Committee of the SEA Games Federation. Since 2004, he is the Honorary Medical Adviser of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the Chairman of the Medical Commission of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 2007 and a member of the IOC Medical Commission since 2007.


Being a medical doctor himself and an Olympian in the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games and the gold medalists in the 100m in Track and Field in the 1962 and the 100m, 200m and 4 X 100m Relay in the 1966 Asian Games, Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan has been very conscious of the need to fight against doping in sport. His two prong strategies in the fight against doping are testing and education. He has diligently carried out his duties and responsibilities as a volunteer in sports medicine, contributing his time, experience and knowledge to the OCM, OCA, CGF and the IOC for over twenty years."

Datuk James Selvaraj

EPLx Kosmo! Apa khabar, Datuk?

Datuk James Selvaraj Bagus, sihat.

Terima kasih kerana meluangkan masa untuk temu bual ini. Sebagai seorang ahli sukan dan legenda dalam sukan badminton, Datuk tentunya turut meminati bola sepak.

Benar. Bola sepak satu daripada sukan kegemaran saya.

Datuk adalah legenda badminton negara dan mula bergiat di bangku sekolah. Bagaimana pula dengan pembabitan Datuk dalam bola sepak?

St John’s Institution (SJI) (kini SMK St John) sebuah sekolah yang menggalakkan kegiatan sukan, jadi saya aktif dalam pelbagai sukan, terutama badminton, hoki dan merentas desa. Dalam bola sepak pula, saya bermain sebagai pemain tengah tetapi hingga peringkat kelas saja. Masa terluang saya lebih tertumpu kepada badminton, hoki dan larian jarak jauh. Kalau ada saja perlumbaan jarak jauh dan merentas desa, saya antara paling awal mendaftar. Badminton pula memang kegilaan saya waktu itu.

Datuk Dr M Jegathesan

EPLx Kosmo! Apa khabar Datuk? Datuk Dr M Jegathesan Bagus, saya baru pulang dari Sukan SEA Laos. Datuk antara yang berada di stadium ketika pasukan bola sepak Malaysia merangkul pingat emas di Vientiane. Ya, sudah lama kita tidak merasakan keseronokan sebegitu. Kontinjen Malaysia diselimuti kegembiraan dan kepuasan. Dengar khabar kontinjen Thailand muncul juara tetapi bersedih kerana emas bola sepak terlepas daripada genggaman mereka. Nampaknya bola sepak meninggalkan kesan mendalam. Benar. Ini yang saya namakan faktor impak yang besar. Malah dalam olahraga sendiri, perlumbaan 100 meter lebih besar impaknya daripada 1,500m misalnya. Saya pernah menyebut dalam laporan saya selaku ketua kontinjen ke Sukan Olimpik di Athens bahawa kita harus membuat kajian mengenai kesan satu-satu sukan terhadap masyarakat.

Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad

[EPLx KOSMO! Apa khabar, Datuk Seri?

Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad Alhamdulillah, sihat.

Terima kasih Datuk Seri kerana meluangkan masa untuk interbiu ini. Bagaimana Datuk Seri melihat kemenangan pasukan Bawah 23 kebangsaan dalam Sukan SEA di Laos baru-baru ini?

Syabas saya ucapkan kepada K. Rajagobal dan anak buahnya. Pujian harus diberikan kepada mereka. Walaupun Sukan SEA dianggap pentas paling rendah untuk kita meraih kejayaan, penantian 20 tahun yang dinoktahkan harus menjadi titik permulaan yang baru buat bola sepak Malaysia.

Champion in the mind.

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