KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice-president Datuk Manjit Majid Abdullah went to Gifu, Japan, for the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Annual General Meeting (AGM) not expecting anything, but instead returned home as the Federation’s vice-president.
The position comes with a lot of responsibilities, as he was also appointed as the AHF’s head of events and special projects.
“I did not expect anything from the AHF so I was pleasently surprised when I was nominated for the post of vice-president.
“And being appointed head of events and special projects is very challenging, but I have been there and done that before with the MHC as well as the Johor Hockey Association (HA),” said Manjit who took up the challenge with an open heart.
In joy, there was also sadness for Manjit as The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah did not seek reelection to continue as AHF president.
Instead, Al-Sultan Abdullah accepted the appointment as AHF’s Royal Patron.
“Since the days of Sultan Azlan Shah, and even when he was the King, Malaysia has held the AHF presidency, but Al-Sultan Abdullah declined as he wanted to concentrate on his Royal duties.
“However, his love for hockey was evident when he acccepted the position of Royal Patron, while he did not keep any posts which he previously held in football,” said Manjit.
Manjit’s immediate task is to create new tournaments in the wake of hockey being sidelined in the Sea Games.
“Manila (2019) will only host indoor hockey, while Vietnam after that has taken hockey off the list of sports to be contested.
“What I will propose soon to the AHF is to start a Hockey 5’s tournament in Johor, as well as another age-group tournament (Under-16 or Under-18) in another state in Malaysia, so that hockey is kept alive and well in this region.”
Planning, executing and managing a World-class Under-21 tournament is nothing new to Manjit, who was instrumental in launching the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) back in 2011.
It is now into its Ninth Edition this year and has become one of the top hockey tournaments in the region.
The SoJC is the only Under-21 Invitational tournament in the world and is widely promoted by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
It is certainly going to be very interesting times indeed for the AHF, as Manjit will also propose for an Asian World Cup, a regional alternative to the FIH World Cup.
“It’s time we have a regional World Cup to further promote the sport, and I will propose this to the AHF in our next meeting.”
Manjit also revealed that Al-Sultan Abdullah is keen for his son, the current Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, to become the next MHC as well as AHF president.
“Al-Sultan Abdullah has said he is taking a break from sports, but is keen to groom his son (23-years-old) to take the reigns in MHC as well as AHF as president.”
Tengku Mahkota of Pahang is currently attached to the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.