Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh has expressed confidence the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will be able to resolve its leadership issue without disrupting the continuity of the national football development programme.
This follows the resignation of its president, Joehari Ayub, after only about six months at the helm.
Deputy president Yusoff Mahadi has been appointed acting president with immediate effect.
Yeoh said she believed FAM could handle the matter effectively, noting that the governing body had faced bigger challenges in the past, Bernama reported.
“I don’t consider it a crisis because they already have an acting president and all the programmes are ongoing, but a change in the leadership of a sports association is not strange, it is common, and I am confident that FAM can resolve this internally.
“They just need to choose a new president and I hope they will choose someone who can last longer,” she said on the sidelines of the 2025 World Youth Scrabble Championship at the Sri KL International School here today.
Yeoh also said the leadership issue at FAM should not be allowed to drag on.
She said she had contacted FAM honorary president Hamidin Amin on the matter, given that several national projects are underway between the youth and sports ministry and FAM.
“We have the National Football Development Project, which is now in a transition phase from the National Sports Council to FAM, in addition to the National Training Centre project in Putrajaya. I don’t want any disruption to these national projects,” she said.
She also said football was fortunate to have the support of the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who has contributed significantly to the development of the sport.
Yesterday, at a press conference at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, Yusoff explained that Joehari’s resignation was a personal decision, and denied speculation that there was any “unseen hand” behind the surprise move.
