KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — The decision of Michelle Chai to resign as the chief executive officer of Academy Badminton of Malaysia (ABM) is still being considered by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
Speaking to Bernama, BAM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the matter would be discussed in the governing body’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday (May 13).
“When Michelle evaluated the situation of what happened two days ago, in which our players lost to the Philippines at the SEA Games (Cambodia), I feel she was expressing her intention to resign based on the policy of accountability and responsibility.
“So on Saturday, we will have the AGM to look and consider the resignation,” he said when contacted here today.
Yesterday, BAM confirmed Chai had handed in her resignation notice as ABM chief executive officer, following the poor performance of the national women’s squad and their elimination from the SEA Games in Phnom Penh.
At a media conference, she said the 0 – 3 loss at the hands of the Philippines’ women’s squad in the quarter-finals at Morodok Badminton Hall, in the National Stadium was a fact which could not be accepted and required a solution from ABM’s management and coaching staff.
At the same time, BAM also announced that ABM’s high-performance director Timothy John Jones had resigned with immediate effect.
Mohamad Norza said the proposal that BAM relieved Jones of his post was brought by Chai, and it was accepted by the governing body.
“I think the position (ABM high-performance director) needs to be replaced because it is an important component in ABM, (and) this matter will also be brought to the council so we can see how (to) move forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Norza said that based on the performance of the junior badminton squad at the SEA Games, the average player with less experience will have to face experienced players from other countries while the national senior squad is actively preparing for the Sudirman Cup Badminton Championship in China, next week.
“As we all know the SEA Games is an exposure platform where we evaluate how we stand. We have to look at this matter as a whole, (and) we see the performance of our men (players), is quite satisfactory.
“We know we are still building the women’s team and we are still looking for the person who will strengthen the women’s team… that is not a new thing, everyone knows our women’s team is still in the process of rebuilding,” he said.
— Bernama
