FAS chief not for ‘trial and error’ to find new FAM leaders

KUCHING (Feb 11): Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) president Dato Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman has cautioned against a ‘trial and error’ approach in appointing new leadership for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

He opined that there is need for an experienced figure with strong international networking to steer the national body through its current crisis and to restore confidence and meet ongoing scrutiny from FIFA and  Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Fazzrudin said he admired the ‘big-hearted’ move by former FAM executive committee members who resigned en bloc recently, describing it as an act of responsibility following the crisis.

“A new setup must be in place and it needs to be led by a president with wide experience. This is not the time for trial and error because FIFA and AFC are watching closely,” he told a press conference held at his Tupong Assemblyman Service Centre on Tuesday.

He expressed the view that a former FAM president could be the right figure to stabilise the association but stressed that such leadership must come with a clear continuity and transition strategy to groom a new generation of leaders.

“The past president should help steady the ship first, but there must be a transition plan to prepare new leaders to take over after the problems are resolved,” he explained.

Fazzrudin suggested that former national players and emerging football administrators, such as Datuk Dollah Salleh and Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan, could play important roles within the new leadership structure, particularly at the executive committee level, to bring fresh ideas and support long-term development.

“One day they may be ready to lead, but for now they should be part of the new leadership line-up to learn and contribute while we resolve the current issues,” he said.

When asked if he was interested in contesting the FAM presidency, Fazzrudin declined, saying his current priority is to focus on developing football in Sarawak.

He emphasised that strong and stable leadership at the national level is crucial for state football development, noting that Sarawak relies on FAM for coaching programmes, referee development and collaboration in organising international matches.

“We need a strong FAM leadership so that we can work together to achieve our objectives and continue developing football, including in Sarawak,” he added.

Fazzrudin reiterated that his views were based on practicality rather than popularity. The crisis engulfing FAM began in late 2025 following a FIFA investigation into the eligibility of several naturalised players, which resulted in sanctions, fines and suspensions after falsified documents were allegedly used to support ancestry claims.

It led to the mass resignation of the entire FAM executive committee in January 2026, creating a leadership vacuum.

Since then, AFC has been assisting in overseeing administrative reforms alongside the FAM secretary-general while governance reviews and legal proceedings continue.