Ong Kim Swee appointed interim head coach of Harimau Malaya

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has appointed Under-23 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee as interim head coach of the Harimau Malaya squad effective immediately.

Ong succeeds head coach Dollah Salleh who quit yesterday after Malaysia’s humiliating 10-0 defeat to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

The appointment of Ong Kim Swee, 45, had been consented by the FAM president, Tengku Abdullah Ahmad Shah, the FAM said in a statement today.

Ong’s selection was based on his four-month stint as interim head coach from Feb 3 to June 28, 2014 after the FAM decided not to extend the contract of head coach Datuk K. Rajagopal which expired on Dec 31, 2013.

In addition, Ong’s contract with the FAM runs until year end. He guided the U-23 squad to the 2015 Singapore SEA Games in June.

The statement also said that Ong gave his commitment to train the Harimau Malaya (national) squad until the FAM hires a new head coach.

Ong will bring along his assistant, Brad Maloney from Australia and U-23 goalkeeping coach Yong Wai Hwang.

They replace Reduan Abdullah and Wan Mustaffa Wan Ismail (asst. head coaches) and Omar Salim (goalkeeping coach), who followed Dollah’s footsteps.

Ong’s first task is to prepare the squad as Malaysia take on Saudi Arabia in another World Cup qualifier at Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday (Sept 8).

FAM deputy president and Special Task Force chairman Datuk Abdul Mokhtar Ahmad had been charged with finding suitable candidates as Harimau Malaya head coach.-Bernama