A reasoning culture.

I have just come back from a meeting with DKLS, the company that said they had RM2 million of sponsorship. This is the company that PICA told to write a proposal to PICA before PICA will consider accepting the sponsorship.

I think we can all agree that this is a ridiculous stand for PICA to take. A few days after this meeting I was sacked from PICA without charges or due process.

Now my meeting with them is to enquire if the funds are still available. Their answer is yes but not unless the issue with PICA is solved. I can understand their position. I would have made the same decision when I was in their shoes.

The corporates will view the issue this way. If there was an irregularity in my sacking then there must be an administrative solution to the problem. Otherwise this sport is runned by cowboys. MCF had sent a letter to PICA asking for the reasons for my sacking. Till now there has been no reply. This shows that MCF has no muscle or will to solve problems. Now if DKLS were to come into the picture and there were some minor issues, would they now also risk their reputation too?

Lets rewind the clock here. I was on a train to Singapore. A parent presented an idea to me that I thought was good. After winning the Mal/Sing I wrote about it, hoping we can ride on a good thing and maybe create even more success. Now this idea was opposed by a few people. But instead of giving the reasons for their opposition, they attacked FGM when they felt that the idea was gaining ground.

Instead of giving good reasons for their opposition they now besmirch the reputation of the sponsors of Air Asia and FGM. What does this say about these people? What image do they give of chess? Daily we are crying for funding, for sponsorships and we can see the reasons why we are not getting it.

So the big question we have to ask ourselves now is would we be better off without their poison or not?

This is not a personal issue. If by making this police report and exposing this poison, it means that somebody else will dare to make a suggestion for the improvement of chess then to me its a good thing. If somebody else is able to bring in sponsorship and is not seen as a threat to be got rid of by blatant disregard to rules and regulations, its a good thing.

If FGM is to allow itself to be shouted down, falsely accused and take no steps to protect both its reputation and the reputation of its supporters then what is to say that this wont happen to anyone else?

So is it necessary for this poison to be lanced? I think so.