Is a new President enough?

Is it? Have you ever wondered why even in Fide there is a contest for the top post and here we have horse trading? How is that different?

Have you ever wondered why ratings work in many Countries but here we sent 2 players who haven't played a Classical Fide Tournament in 10 years to the last Olympiad?

It's about competition. The courage to challenge with a better idea, a better program, a better game. It's about the culture of healthy competition. It's about raising standards.

A challenge for the top is a good step forward. But it is still not enough. Read what Tengku Razaleigh said again. Here.

He says our future is not in the hands of the VIP's. What could he mean? I understand it to mean that if we just rely on the top to fix things, we are still in the same trap. We sit and and hope the new President will fix things for us. The rest of us will not have learnt anything.

We are still helpless in the face of abuse of authority if the top doesn't want our rights protected because a "deal" was struck during the horse trading.

So a contest for the top is a powerful message that we are bringing competitive chess to Malaysia. We are a mind sport and so it needs to begin with the mind. We need to free our minds first then we can compete. We need a new culture for Malaysian chess if we are to have our own GM. And one that can stand tall among other GM's.

I will propose something the rest of us can do even as we hope there will be a healthy challenge for the top; one based on issues and good programs and not sabotage. My proposal to the rest of us in my next post.