Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery impertinence depict the recent match-fixing scandal that involved 18 President’s Cup players and a coach, as scandalous.
Ahmed Shabery who welcomed the action taken by the Football Association of Malaysia which declared the coventry of the players and coach, urged the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police to take severe action.
“I will direct the respective authorities to investigate and find out the reason and source of the match fixing scandal,” he told reporters after opening the National Open Power-lifting Championships at the Titiwangsa Stadium here yesterday.
Yesterday, the FAM banned 18 youth players for two to five years while a former Negeri Sembilan coach was given a lifetime suspension, for their involvement in match fixing.
The 18 players comprised six each from Negeri Sembilan, T-Team and Muar Municipal Council, while three people were also charged with bribing the players, last year.
One of the three charged was Yusarman Yusof, the then Negeri Sembilan Under-21 coach, while the other two were believed to be bookies, Rajendran Kurusamy, 51, from Singapore and Sufian Ngah, 41.
Shabery said a number of factors, including weaknesses in the financial management of state and club teams, must be studied since it can be related to the being of match fixing scandals in local competitions.
A match-fixing scandal had rocked the country in 1994 and 1995, resulting in more than 100 players and coaches being banished.
Therefore, the National Open Power-lifting Championships which started yesterday saw participation from 15 countries, including Chile, United Kingdom, Iran, Kazakhstan, Korea and Malaysia as the host.
The championships, sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee serves as two of the last championships offering qualifying points for the 2012.
