Paul Ling Kiing Tasn
SIBU: Table Tennis Association of Sarawak (TTAS) deputy chairman Paul Ling Kiing Tasn has called on the State Sports Council (MSNS) to stop interfering in their internal affairs.
“Like in the past, the Sports Council has given the TTAS a free hand and have also avoid from interfering with its internal matters,” he told reporters at the sideline of the Sibu Open Table Tennis Doubles Championship on Monday.
Elaborating, Ling said their disappointment with the Sports Council arose after TTAS transferred one Chinese coach from Kuching to Miri for a one-month stint early last month.
The coach, Ling explained, was assigned to prepare four players from the Miri division who have been selected to take part in the South East Asian Junior and Cadet National Championship in Kuala Lumpur from June 18-21 and the national championship in Kedah on June 9.
He alleged that someone from the Kuching Table Tennis Association (KTTA) complained to the Sports Council.
As a result, Ling said MSNS ordered TTAS to bring the coach back from Miri after he was three weeks into his coaching stint.
“What is this? Why should the Sports Council listened and acted harshly after receiving the complaint from a single division?
“Aren’t we supposed to rotate these coaches for our affiliates, especially when their players had been selected to don national colours? Isn’t this for the betterment of the sport,” he asked.
The Miri Table Tennis Association (MTTA) officials, he added, have expressed deep dissatisfaction on the recall of the coach.
Ling asked why taking away one of the three Chinese coaches with KTTS could be such a big deal.
MSNS, he continued, chose to only listen to KTTA.
“This is very unfair to TTAS. In the past, the Sports Council never interfere in the internal matters of TTAS. But why now?” he wondered.
Ling, who is also Samarahan Table Tennis Association secretary, said the coaching woes might force the cancellation of a proposed training camp set up for elite players at SJK © Chung Hua No. 3 in early June.
“We have the venue and the elite players from other divisions are also ready to come and attend the training but we do not have the coach. Actually, we do have three coaches but all of them are monopolised by KTTA.”
Ling said these players are preparing for next year’s Sukma.