PETALING JAYA: Outgoing Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Norza Zakaria says investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz is the right man for the job.
Norza said he was optimistic that a dynamic and progressive leader like Tengku Zafrul was capable of running the show as the new boss and continuing his six-year legacy, Bernama reported.
He said Tengku Zafrul’s vast experience in the corporate sector before venturing into the political scene would definitely help him take BAM to the next level.
Norza said Tengku Zafrul had shown great interest in becoming his successor and the response from BAM’s stakeholders had also been positive so far.
“My advice to him is to basically put in a lot of work to understand the ecosystem of badminton and meet all relevant stakeholders, administrators, coaches and players to get inputs on the areas that need improvement.
“I know it’s not easy (to be BAM president). That’s why we need someone who is strong and passionate enough to maintain our status as one of the world’s top badminton forces,” he said.
BAM had earlier today announced that council members had unanimously agreed on the minister, who has taken part in marathons and is a keen cyclist and swimmer, taking over as the new president.
Norza said the detailed timeline of Tengku Zafrul’s appointment would be discussed internally at the next council meeting in December.
“We (the BAM council members) expect the election of Tengku Zafrul to be done in January 2024,” he told a press conference here today.
Norza had announced in August that he would step down from the post of president at the end of the year.
His decision came as a shock to many as he had announced in July that he planned to leave the national governing body only after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
