KUALA LUMPUR – National football legend Datuk Santokh Singh has hit out at the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for what he calls an over-reliance on foreign coaches and players.
He warned that such an approach is undermining the nation’s footballing identity and stifling the development of local talent.
Speaking to reporters at the Sports Flame event today, the former national centre-back expressed concern over the growing presence of foreigners in key positions within the national setup.
“The current state of Malaysian football is a mess, in my opinion,” said the 1980s stalwart.
“Honestly, FAM might as well be called the Football Association of Mat Sallehs. I don’t understand why everything needs to be whitewashed. Where are our local coaches in all this?”
Santokh also questioned the role and influence of newly appointed technical director Tan Cheng Hoe, doubting whether he would be able to make meaningful contributions under a structure headed by Australian national coach Peter Cklamovski.
“Do you really think Cheng Hoe will have much say? I doubt it. He’ll be answering to Cklamovski — and let’s face it, an Australian coach isn’t going to take orders from a Malaysian,” he said.
He further criticised the increasing recruitment of foreign and heritage players, describing it as a desparate move to “instant success” that risks damaging long-term efforts to grow the domestic game.
“They’re bringing in random foreign and heritage players, thinking that’ll fix everything. But this is killing the morale of our local boys who’ve been working hard at places like the Akademi Mokhtar Dahari.
“These youngsters already know they have little chance of breaking through now,” he said.
Santokh likened the situation to a “modern form of colonisation”, citing the underwhelming outcomes from the AMD programme.
Despite years of investment, he pointed out, very few players have successfully progressed to the senior national squad.
“Out of about 50 players in AMD, only two have made it to the national team. That says everything about how broken our system is. We need to return to nurturing local talent and putting trust in our own people.”
Sports Flame, first held in 2011, is a joint initiative by four former national sports journalists – Datuk Lazarus Rokk, Datuk George Das, Datuk Fauzi Omar and R. Velu.
This year’s edition was organised in collaboration with local portal Free Malaysia Today.
The event celebrated the achievements and icons of the 1975 Hockey World Cup, where Malaysia finished fourth – the nation’s best-ever performance in the tournament.
Among the notable former athletes in attendance were Reduan Abdullah (football), Datuk James Selvaraj (badminton), G. Shanti (athletics), and Stephen van Huizen (hockey). — May 18, 2025