A cautionary note to the selection committee chair of MCF.

Dear Selection Chair, MCF,

Please excuse me for raising this note from my experience as the former selection chair in PICA and I hope you will allow me my say in the same spirit that I convey this message to you. Ref. comments here.

As far as I know, Peter is the technical chair and has no say in selection. The selection chair is Encik Ghalam Sani who I have heard good things about but not sure if we have actually met.

One of the major problems that we have faced in chess is the interference of sponsors into the selection process. If this is allowed to continue then there are other sponsors who will be less inclined to participate as well as the continued unhappiness within the chess community.

It is my opinion that the best way to manage this is that the selection process is held firmly within the ambit of the selection chair which must resist all outside or inside pressures towards biasness. Of course this will be very difficult without sufficient support from within the committee but I believe that will be the best way forward for the entire chess community.

So our hopes for fair play will now rest on your broad shoulders. The selection committee chair is the hottest seat there is within a Chess Association so I wish you enough support to hold your ground.

I would also like to add this suggestion with your permission. Perhaps the allotment for National Close pre-qualification for the Malaysian Masters can be increased. There are many strong players who are no longer very active because of the back door practices of the past. So maybe the "active" list based on ratings can be shortened to encourage them to come back actively into chess if sufficient time is given for them to dust off the cobwebs.

It is also my opinion that there is no need at the present moment to have a President's or selection chairman's choice as announced on Jimmy's blog by Peter. You can reserve that right for future occasions as and when the need arises in your best judgement as our selection chair.

If some or all of those suggestions meets your considered approval and the criteria come out early then I believe we will have the most exciting National Close of all time for Malaysia and will announce to the whole wide world that Malaysia is truly back and we mean serious business.

May I also highlight this post to you. Here. Thank you for allowing me this short note to you, Encik Ghalam.