Malaysian ministers ordered to quit sports posts

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Reuters) Malaysia's cabinet has ordered high-ranking ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries to immediately resign from any posts they hold in sports associations, according to local reports.

The decision, which was front page lead story in the main English-language dailies on Thursday, was made to protect the image of top government officials should a sports association perform badly.

Last month, Malaysia's deputy soccer president, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, quit after the national team were thumped 5-0 by Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup.

Abdullah is heir to the throne in the Malaysian state of Pahang.

''The Cabinet does not want the image of a minister to be tarnished if a sports association fails to perform or fulfil targets as this may lead to them being made the scapegoat,'' Sports and Youth Minister Azalina Othman Said was quoted in local newspapers as saying.

''The funding sports associations receive from the government is not based on the personalities leading them but on the performance of the sports, especially when we are going to introduce a rating system soon on this,'' Azalina added.

Several ministers have already stepped down as heads of national sports associations, as have a number of deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries holding lower posts.

They include Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy (Table Tennis Association of Malaysia), Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn (Malaysian Bodybuilding Federation), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Jamaludin Jarjis (Equestrian Association of Malaysia) and Tourism Minister Adnan Tengku Mansor (Kuala Lumpur Football Association).

REUTERS CS PM1030