Congress and election conducted in accordance with constitution. All affiliates were eligible to vote: Safa
Published on: Thursday, May 25, 2023
By: GL Oh
Sabah FC’s Daniel Ting (right) and Perak FC’s Mohammad Alif vie for the ball.
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Football Association (Safa) has denied any wrongdoing in holding their annual congress at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) on May 13.
This followed Safa Tenom’s statement on Sunday that they will not support the new Safa committee if the election held on that day was found to be against the constitution, and they will remain neutral until the matter is made clear.
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Safa executive secretary David Wisom (pic) in a statement issued on Tuesday night said the congress as well as the election of supreme council members for the period 2023-2027 was conducted legally and in accordance with the constitution.
“All the 33 affiliated members present at the congress were valid and eligible to vote, and they were very supportive to ensure that it was run smoothly.
“There was also the presence of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary general as advisor and representatives from the Youth and Sports Ministry, Sabah Sports Council, Sabah Sports Board as observers,” he said.
He added that Safa is always open to any criticism from any party, especially their affiliate members, and they will not carry out any business that violates the constitution.
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Meanwhile on an unrelated note, head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee was happy with the three points earned following Sabah FC’s 3-1 win over Perak FC at Likas Stadium on Tuesday night.
However, he was disappointed with the second half performance of his players after taking a 3-0 lead at half time that allowed the visitors to take control at the restart.
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“Getting the three points was our main target tonight but the second half performance was not as good as in the first half.
“After scoring the three goals, we let our guard down and this is the area that we need to rectify,” he said after the match.
After the disappointment of letting Terengganu FC score an injury time equaliser in their previous home match, Sabah FC made a strong start with the support of some 6,000 fans in the stadium.
They took an early lead through Darren Lok’s close range strike in the 4th minute after the initial effort from Dominic Tan hit the post.
The second came in the 32nd minute from the unmarked Park Taesu who curved his shot past the Perak FC goalkeeper before skipper Baddrol Bakhtiar who had missed a couple of chances earlier on headed in the third in the 41st minute with the assist from Jailton Paraiba.
The second half saw the visiting team making an aggressive start and Luciano Guaycochea had his free kick bounce off the crossbar in the 67th minute.
Their relentless effort to find the net finally paid off in the 83rd minute after former Rhino and local lad Harith Naem Jaineh scored against his old club with a well struck goal.
With the victory, Sabah FC climbed above Kedah FC into fourth place with 24 points from seven wins, three draws and two losses.
They will next meet Kedah FC away at the Darul Aman Stadium on June 2.
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