Two FAM Affiliates Want Honorary President's Post To Be Retained

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 (Bernama) -- Two affiliates of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have defended the existence of the FAM Honorary President’s position following statements regarding the status of the post in the governing body's proposed new statutes.

Penang Football Association President Mohd Azizudin Mohd Shariff admitted he was shocked by the statement made by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General-Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John, who reportedly said that the position of Honorary President is no longer relevant and is not practiced by the world governing body.

He said that based on the new draft statutes distributed to FAM affiliate members last week, the position of Honorary President still exists and is retained within the FAM organisational structure.

"In fact, the new statutes are the result of a reform process implemented with the involvement and guidance of the AFC itself.

“Therefore, the statement that the position will be abolished is quite surprising because the provision for it is still clearly contained in the draft statutes proposed for approval by the Congress," he said in a statement today.

Mohd Azizudin said the position of Honorary President should be retained because it is a symbolic role awarded as the highest mark of respect to specific individuals.

The position of FAM Honorary President is currently held by Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, who is also the former FAM president from 2018 to 2025, after deciding not to defend his post at the governing body's Congress meeting in February last year. About four months later, Hamidin was appointed as Honorary President at the FAM Extraordinary General Meeting in June.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Melaka Football Association Deputy President Datuk Mohd Saiful Mat Sapri said Hamidin's appointment as FAM Honorary President had been legally approved by affiliate members through the 2025 FAM Extraordinary General Meeting.

He added that any assumption that the position would be "dropped" is inaccurate and could cause confusion among affiliate members as well as national football stakeholders.

Yesterday, Windsor was reported as saying that the AFC has proposed 94 articles in the draft of the new 2026 FAM statutes, which will be presented at the governing body's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) this Thursday.

According to Windsor, the AFC also took the approach of not including the Honorary President position in the proposed new statutes because the role is no longer relevant in modern football governance and is not practiced by major football governing bodies, including the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

-- BERNAMA