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NOTED as among the ‘quiet’ sports associations in the country, the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) has made great strides and has recently caught the attention of even the Prime Minister.
Recognising its achievements and potential, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an RM1 million grant for the development of cricket in Budget 2025.
According to sources, the MCA which was formerly under the leadership of Mahinda Vallipuram rose to great heights when the unassuming and soft spoken Mohammed Iqbal Ali Kassim Ali was elected as the new president in May 2021.
"Apart from achieving numerous local and international milestones, the new team under Mohamad Iqbal's leadership also successfully turned around the MCA's financials.
"When the new leadership took over, MCA’s turnover was around RM1.2 million, but they managed to raise it to about RM9 to RM10 million now," revealed the source.
MCA has functioned independently all these years without much assistance from the government and has yet achieved major strides for the sport and the nation.
Attempt to overthrow current president
However, according to sources it is learnt that there is now an ongoing conspiracy by certain individuals to overthrow the president and his deputy.
"These individuals are planning a coup d'etat as they now see the potential of the MCA, access to the Prime Minister (who for the first time since the day of Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar acknowledged and supported Malaysian cricket) and are trying to use it for their own benefits.
"From what we know, they are trying to coax the state chairmen to sign a petition to hold an emergency general meeting with the singular aim of removing the president and deputy president," revealed the source.
When contacted by The Vibes, most of the state MCA chairmen refused to comment on the petition while two were angered when queried if they had signed.
One of the state chairmen however, said he had signed the petition calling for an EGM due to certain 'problems' in the association. However, he refused to elaborate when asked what the problems were.
One of the signatories is also believed to be the president of KL cricket, Mahinda (the previous MCA president).
Abedan Kanthasamy, who is the vice -president of KL Cricket when contacted, said he was unaware of any petition, nor did he support any such attempt.
The Putrajaya cricket chairman denied there was any such petition and that he was not approached by anyone to sign any document for an EGM.
Just weeks before AGM
A source familiar with the matter said it was a pathetic attempt led by one disgruntled member to oust the president and deputy – just eight weeks before the AGM.
“We will be holding our AGM in a matter of weeks and these individuals now want to call for an EGM, which does not make any sense at all.
“What we would really like to know is what is the intention of these few individuals in plotting this conspiracy?”.
The insider said not all Exco members were familiar with what the petition was about and some had blindly signed it.
“From our understanding a few of those who signed the petition did not even know what document they were signing and later regretted it.
“Was this matter even minuted at the state level or is it the underhand tactics of a few individuals with ulterior motives?".
Another MCA insider questioned why these individuals were only targeting the president and deputy and why not the entire Exco line up.
“Suddenly everyone wants a piece of the cake since MCA is fast gaining recognition and making an impact.
“These successes are attributed to the hard work and dedication of the current president and deputy.
“Calling for an EGM is a serious matter, and the states should realise the impact it would have on them and the MCA as a whole,” he added. – February 19, 2025
