PRESIDEN BAC BARU

Nadzmi accepts BAC presidency

By FABIAN PETER

BADMINTON Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh today officially accepted the offer from the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) to be the president till 2015.
“After much consideration and discussion with my BAM council members, I have decided to accept the post in a sign of Asian solidarity,” he said after the BAM council meeting.
Nadzmi was unanimously voted to head the 12-member organisation at their Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last Sunday in Bangkok where former president Katsuto Momii was sacked in a vote of no confidence.
The BAM president is also nominated to stand for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) presidency in the election on May 18 in Kuala Lumpur alongside Indonesia’s Justian Suhandinata and Denmark’s Paul-Erik Hoyer, but with his announcement today, there may not be a three-way race after all.
“Of course as you already know, I have served BAM for two terms, and I will not stand for another term. This BAC offer came along, and I will now have to weigh the level of my involvement with the Asian body.
“I have heard news that the BAC situation is quite messy and my main task as president is to maintain unity among the member countries. Probably there is a lot of work to be done.
“This will definitely influence my decision on whether to stand for the BWF presidency. Furthermore as Asian president, I can’t be going against other candidates thus reducing the chance for an Asian to hold the top post in the world governing body. I will make an announcement on this as soon as possible,” Nadzmi added.
About the matter has been taken to court by Momii who claims the the EGM was illegal, Nadzmi said: “The EGM was held in accordance with the BAC constitution and every decision made was legitimate. As for parties who have taken this court, that is not my problem.”
Nadzmi also said the election of a new president is not in the agenda for the BAC annual general meeting in Taiwan on April 21, so his post as president will be effective until 2015.
“When I received the offer from BAC, I was named acting president, but now that I have accepted the offer, I’m officially the president and I will serve till 2015,” he said, adding that an official reply would be sent to BAC secretary-general Surasak Songvarakulpan by Monday.
When pressed further on claims by Momii that this had everything to do with the BWF presidency, Nadzmi refuted it by saying “I’m sorry but I can’t comment on speculation. All I can say is even I was surprised by the offer, so how can it be planned?”
For feedback, please email editor@sports247.my