KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) council members have been warned that they must be accountable for every single sen spent.

New MAF president Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said he would not tolerate any misappropriation or misuse of the association’s funds.

“Every sen must be accounted for,” said Zainal, who defeated Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim in the elections last September.

“We’ve had enough controversies and bickering among the officials in the MAF. My goal, as the new president, is to make athletics a powerhouse in five years’ time.

“And we must start now to work to achieve that goal. It’s not going to be easy but we must work together to achieve it.”

To show that he means business, Zainal has already cracked the whip by calling in the auditors to check the accounts of the previous committee.

“Three auditors have been checking the MAF accounts and they are expected to take one week to complete the task,” he said.

Zainal also announced that the MAF have lowered their target for the Myanmar SEA Games in December from nine gold medals to seven following the retirement of woman pole vaulter Roslinda Samsu.

Roslinda, who won a gold medal in each of the last three biennial Games, retired last month to become a coach.

MAF, he said, would now bank on walker Loo Choo Sieng, high jumper Lee Hup Wei, hammer thrower Tan Song Hwa, hurdlers Noraseela Khalid and Rayzam Shah Soffian, 400m runner P. Yuvaraj and the 4x400m relay team to deliver the gold medals.

At the last Games in Palembang two years ago, Malaysia won five golds.

Zainal also said that world-renowned coach Gunter Lange of Germany would arrive here in May to take charge as the technical director of MAF.

Lange is no stranger to Malaysian athletes and officials, having conducted coaching courses for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in Kuala Lumpur since 2005.

Lange is expected to draw up comprehensive training programmes for local coaches and conduct workshops and coaching clinics.

The German is currently in charge of the Uganda athletics team.

Meanwhile, Datuk Kenneth J. Luis has been appointed as the new MAF general manager.

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