KUALA LUMPUR — With Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah finally signing new four-year contracts with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), attention has turned to why negotiations dragged on for over half a year — and whether the national body’s past actions had anything to do with it.
In 2022, BAM came under fire for attempting to bar Lee Zii Jia from international competition for two years after the former All England champion chose to turn independent. That ruling was later reversed following the intervention of then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
It is understood that the same policy — allowing BAM to restrict players who exit the national setup — remains in effect.
Sources close to the matter believe this was among the sticking points in Pearly and Thinaah’s negotiations, though BAM president Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz declined to comment on whether this was the case.
“I didn’t ask what happened earlier, and I don’t want to dwell on it,” Tengku Zafrul said at a press conference today.
“What’s important is that we’ve found a way forward and can now give our full support to Pearly and Thinaah.”
The resolution ends a protracted impasse first reported by Scoop in April. It is learnt that BAM had already offered a base salary of RM1 million per player per year in January.
However, the deal was only inked today, just before the Japan Open next week, which is the first of three key tournaments leading up to the World Championships in Paris.
Tengku Zafrul declined to disclose the details of the agreement, saying only that there was a base figure with performance-linked bonuses and a possibility of review should the pair perform well in upcoming events.
When asked whether contractual terms — beyond salary — had caused the delay, Tengku Zafrul reiterated: “I’m not in a position to comment.”
Despite the long wait, he stressed that BAM would work towards faster resolutions in future.
“That will be the plan going forward,” he said.
“If we know a negotiation is due, we need to plan better. I also believe in meritocracy. If players perform well, they deserve to ask for better terms; it’s only fair.”
The new contracts will keep Pearly and Thinaah under BAM through to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. – July 10, 2025