A short note on sponsors.

I just finished a short debate on sponsors on facebook. Since I won't have much time from tomorrow onwards, I just want to write a short note here.

I was told that what I have been writing is bad for sponsorship. I wonder where that person was when FGM's sponsors were attacked.

Anyway this is my view, which I have been saying since my days in PICA. The sponsors are our allies, our partners. You do not bullshit them. They are business people. They can smell bullshit a mile away.

So you do not hide your weaknesses. Instead you tell them your half full perspective and you tell them what your plan is to succeed. Then they may go with you.

Right now what can we honestly say? That our players will drop like flies after 14yo in International arenas? That they are going to have to go it alone. That the chess federation's officials are only out to make money from big tournaments and not interested in development? That if you work with MCF, sabotage is a real possibility?

Don't you think they have eyes to see?

I was upbeat when I heard that Dato asked Hamid and Najib to do the pitching for Malaysian Open. At last I thought; they will now understand why no sponsor stays with us for long. They will start to see how the corporates think.

It is not a problem if the picture is not rosy now. Businessmen understand that. What they want to see is how you are going to turn it around and become winners.

Why do you still think that you can hide your weaknesses? Do you think everyone else is stupid? Why the need to hide at all? Come up with a plan. Stand tall and tell them how we are going to change things.

But my question to that person is, do you know what the problem really is? Do you have the courage to look hard? Your assessment has to be based on reality. That is called judgement. Something we can learn from chess as well.