KUALA LUMPUR – Former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has questioned the lack of fresh faces in the race for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) presidency after three familiar names emerged as nominees ahead of the body’s electoral congress in September.
“Is there no one new? If that’s the case, then that’s the case. How many candidates are there at the moment?” Khairy told reporters after a pickleball event organised by Defy Training in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, before declining to elaborate further.
It is understood that FAM honorary president Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, Malaysian Football League (MFL) president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan and Football Association of Selangor (FAS) deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar have all been nominated for the association’s top post.
Their nominations are subject to clearance by FAM’s Election Committee, with integrity screening to be conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Department of Insolvency before the final list of eligible candidates is confirmed.
A source told Scoop that all three are seasoned figures in Malaysian football and are expected to command strong support from different quarters, setting the stage for what could be the most closely contested FAM presidential election in more than a decade.
“None of the three candidates are strangers to Malaysian football. They have all served on the FAM Executive Committee in various capacities and built strong relationships within the football fraternity over the years.
“Each candidate has his own network of support among the affiliates, which is why the outcome is difficult to predict.
“With the changes to the FAM Statutes and the expanded voting base, every vote will count. At this stage, no single candidate can be considered the outright favourite,” the source said.
The September congress follows amendments to the FAM Statutes that reduced the number of elected positions, lowered the minimum nomination threshold and expanded the number of affiliate members, changes expected to trigger multi-cornered contests for several Executive Committee positions.
Nominations closed last Sunday, and all candidates are now undergoing the mandatory integrity vetting process.
The last contested FAM presidential election was in 2014, when the then Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, defeated the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail.
Tunku Ismail was elected unopposed in 2017 before stepping down a year later. Hamidin subsequently assumed the presidency unopposed in 2018 and retained the post without a contest in 2021.
Datuk Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub succeeded Hamidin unopposed in 2025 but resigned just a month before the seven-player eligibility scandal erupted. – July 27, 2026