Kedah state govt will help out KFA, says MB Sanusi

ALOR SETAR, May 27 — The state government views seriously the issues faced by the Kedah Football Association (KFA) and will work to assist the body, especially in terms of settling salary arrears for its players.

Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said although KFA was not a government agency, it was important to help keep it afloat as football is highly regarded by the people in the state.

“We need to keep this sport (football) for the sake of the public, the state government will refer to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), to ensure that measures are taken in accordance with FAM, which is the national football governing body,” he said after chairing the state executive council meeting at Wisma Darul Aman here today.

Meanwhile, on the allocation of RM1.5 million for players’ salaries as announced by the state government on May 19, Muhammad Sanusi said it was yet to be approved.

“It was recently proposed, tabled, and the RM1.5 million has not yet been paid, because, in today’s meeting, I was informed that the decision was made just prior to the change in state government administration.

“So the state government is of the view that such a large alloation should be approved by the new government, so we will consider going ahead with the approval, while looking at other initiatives to solve the problem (in KFA),” he said.

Sanusi also called on former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir to resolve issues within the association, including the latter’s position as its president.

“He (Mukhriz) has resigned as the mentri besar, but not necessarily resigned as the president of the KFA, as it has to be done during the association’s meeting,” he said. — Bernama