KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is set to take over from Tan Sri Norza Zakaria as the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president but the latter will still be a strong figure in the badminton scene.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Zafrul will begin his tenure in January next year.
Zafrul will mainly handle the development part of the sport with a focus on revamping the states’ badminton programmes while Norza will remain as the chairman of the National Badminton Foundation (NBF) that oversees and fund the national training programme headed by Rexy Mainaky and sponsored by Petronas at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
The other key figures at ABM are Michelle Chai as the director of administration and Suresh Kumar as the building and facilities manager.
The BAM and ABM were split into separate entities last year.
Zafrul will lead all the state presidents but they will not interfere with the running of ABM.
“I need to make sure there is continuity in the BAM leadership before I step down,” said Norza at a press conference after chairing a BAM council meeting at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“The BAM council members have agreed with my suggestion of appointing Zafrul as the new president.
“I believe that Zafrul is the right candidate to bring BAM to the next level as he is dynamic, progressive and passionate about sports.
“Zafrul has been part of the corporate sector and is a technocrat as well as a politician, and this will benefit BAM.
“I believe he has the stature to maintain our status as a force in world badminton.
“We have spoken to him and he is very interested in the role. I have also obtained Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s blessings.”
Norza’s influence, though, will still be felt as he will continue his role as the chairman of the National Badminton Foundation (NBF) which manages ABM, where the cream of the crop among the shuttlers are based at.
The other board members in the NBF are BAM council members Datuk Lim Teong Kiat and Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz.
BAM as the governing body will focus on the development programmes at state level and day-to-day running of the association while ABM will be the high performance badminton centre.
“I want BAM to keep producing world class players.
‘‘We have to keep working hard as it’s so competitive out there. I will advise the leadership of BAM,” Norza added.
