KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk V. Subramaniam (pic) believes his experience will serve him well when he takes over from Tan Sri Norza Zakaria as the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) president in an acting capacity when the latter steps down in August after the Paris Olympics.
Subramaniam, who is currently BAM’s deputy president, has been unanimously selected by Norza and BAM’s council members as the acting president.
The BAM will appoint a new, permanent president after the elections next year.
Subramaniam was thankful for the trust shown in him by Norza and the council members and vowed to ensure the organisation remains stable until the elections.
“I will like to thank the president and the council members for their trust in me,” said Subramaniam, who is also the president of the Selangor Badminton Association (SBA).
“I will use my experience, both at the state level and in BAM, to continue the work done by Tan Sri Norza. I have been in the Selangor Badminton Association (SBA) since the 1980s.
BAM come first before any personal interests.”
Subramaniam became BAM vice-president in 2007 and later held the position of treasurer between 2017 and 2021 before he was promoted to deputy president.
Meanwhile, Subramaniam was non-committal when asked if he will contest for the role of permanent president.
“Let’s discuss this next year before the elections,” said Subramaniam.
“For now, my focus is on ensuring that there will be a smooth transition and stability in BAM after Norza steps down.”
Meanwhile, the BAM are taking steps to increase the talent pool in badminton in the country by handing out performance-based incentives to states and implementing an accreditation system for clubs.
“We have decided to give incentives to states that produce more winners in the National Junior circuit and other tournaments,” said Norza, after chairing a BAM council meeting at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
“All states will continue to receive a base amount of RM250,000 but those who produce more players will be rewarded accordingly starting from end of this year.
“We also want to split the states into Division one and Division two just like in the Malaysian Football League (MFL).
“This will make the states more competitive and give them more incentives to produce more players.
“We are also looking at implementing a club accreditation system to get clubs to produce players at an elite level for us.
“Before this, we have been relying purely on states to develop players.
“We have to reach out to clubs to increase our talent pool.
“The accreditation criteria include legal and governance structure of the club, facilities available, coaches’ quality, quantity and ratio, programmes conducted, number of tournaments organised and their finances.
“The details of the application process will be released in our website soon.
“Clubs that earn accreditation will receive official recognition from BAM, which includes certificates,” added Norza.
