Misconceptions on taking sides.

Of late there is a lot of misconceptions on "taking sides". Maybe we need to think a little more about what that really means. Directly after the AGM I was accused of changing sides when I continued to talk with the new committee and I have spoken to at least 2 Council members on this topic in the last week and so I think we need to clear the air on this.

This is an example of taking sides. Here.

Lets contrast that stand to what FGM has been talking about and let me use a chess analogy to try to explain this. Lets say we see 2 chess players fighting over the board and one of them puts up his hand to call for the arbiter but the arbiter is busy elsewhere. So say I walk over to the arbiter and tell him that he is needed at that table. Am I taking sides?

Do you see what I mean? How can that be interpreted as taking sides? There is now a dispute on the contest for the Presidency at the AGM. And one of the contestants want to call in the arbiter. If the arbiter agrees that the rules have been infringed then he will call for another contest for that post. Then the 2 candidates will have to go before the "board" (States) again and argue their case. And then the State delegates decide and vote again.

So really this is what FGM is talking about. Let's play by the rules. That is my side and it is not personal and not for anyone or against anyone. I am just for following the rules. Is that clearer now?

In one of my conversations with a Council member he "accused" me of putting a smiley on facebook on somebody's post. A smiley does not mean I agree with what he says. In that case the smiley was supposed to remind that person of what I had privately advised him previously. So lets not jump to conclusions.

But do let us consider deeper about this contest for the post of President again. 7 States are in revolt. This is not a small matter. If this issue is not resolved then MCF will find it very hard to settle down and get the job done. So why don't we get that contest over and done with quickly and then move forward as a more united community.

That is all I am saying now. And may the better man win. This is chess yes? We do believe in competition to bring out the best in us, do we not? It is not about taking sides is it? It is about making the best possible decision for the well being of MCF and the chess community.

For in law the decision of who is to be President ultimately belongs to all the State Affiliates collectively and not to anyone else whether it is X-pose or otherwise. And the arbiter is COS. So X-pose can take sides and decide who should be President etc but the rest of us would like to see the arbiter rule on this in order to lay this ghost to rest and we can then move on to better things as a chess community. Gens Una Sumus.

The MCF story, from AGM to EGM. Final part.

Part 1. Here.

Part 2. Here.

Part 3. Here.

The calls for the EGM is getting more strident and this call is lead on the blogs by X-pose. Here.

I started writing this series by saying that the EGM may not be a good thing if we are not careful. Let me explain further here. But first let us stop and have a good look at where we are right now. But to see it better, lets start from the time that Greg became Secretary of MCF in 2009. Was anything good done by Greg during his time? Did he not bring in written selection for the Juniors? Was that not a step forward from the previous administration? So yes there was a small step forward.

But we still faced sabotage of private initiatives by officials within MCF. We still faced lies and character assasination spread on the blogs by certain anonymous people lead by Jimmy and supported by Peter and Eddy Fong (author of X-pose). And we still faced back door entries into the senior squad and allegations of financial irregularities.

And so came the revolt at the last AGM.

The question that I am going to ask you now is if there has been any improvements since the AGM? Are we not having more events, bigger events now? More International participation? Have we not seen the ending of banning of players without grounds and the coming in of selection for the senior squad? Not perfect yes but still another step forward is it not?

So the EGM should be meant to take us forward yet again isn't it? Not backwards surely. And for that to happen we need MCF to become more professional and not less. Agreed?

So let me tell you what I checked out during the few days I took off from writing. When X-pose first came up with the article on the coming EGM, I called Zuhri when he was in Singapore and asked him about the article and he didn't even know who Eddy was. I then checked with one of his helpers and he also said that he did not pass any information to Eddy. Now why is this important? Where is Eddy getting his information from? And who's agenda and opinion is he forwarding?

Do you recall the attacks on FGM lead by Jimmy? All those lies spread to attack the training by a GM for our kids and to stop the thematics which is similar to the training that Aron Teh receives in China. Today I am receiving poison letters that is attacking the character of Dato Seri Santhara. Does it not look like the toxic people are back and they are on both divides? (Inside MCF or wanting to get back inside).

So what should this EGM bring in if we are really looking for improvement? Should it not be based on issues instead of personal attacks? Yes, MCF has improved since the AGM but we are still not looking at how to compete with our neighbours. How to better ourselves. We just have bigger events with more prize money. And we now have selection for the senior squad although the criteria needs to be better too. And there are still many many things left unresolved.

Let us look at the motions again for the EGM to see what I mean about being professional. Here.

We need to focus on issues and not personal likes and dislikes if this EGM is to bring us forward. Can you see that only motion 1 has any basis? The deputy President was unchallenged and he won fair and square. So why the vote of no confidence against him now? Let me hazard a guess here. It is simply because of the intense dislike for Peter. No matter what he does, right or wrong some people will always be against him. Ref: Here. This is wrong. And if we continue to make decisions like this we will never progress. I feel I can say this because I too was the subject of Peter's incessant attacks and character assasination and he banned my son without any grounds did he not?

So Peter should just have been contained by the Council. It was in the Councils power to stop him. Either not let him in or curtail his "authority". But the Council failed in it's job and now some people want to lay that blame on Dato Seri. That is also wrong. Ref: Here. (Yes, the poison letter seems to have originated from someone within the Council).

Note: I don't think it is necessary to publish the poison letter so the link above is just a little message to the person who penned it.

The President recommends his choice of appointees to the Council and then the Council approves or not approve. So why need the other motions? If there is a new President then there will be new recommendations; does it not follow?

So the only motion that has any basis is the one on the contest for the Presidency. And Zuhri has called in the arbiter, COS. So this contest does not involve anyone else except COS and the State Affiliates.

However with the entry of the toxic people yet again they have now managed to pit Zuhri against both Tan Sri and Dato Seri Santhara. This further confuses the issue when what we need is more clarity.

So the motions are flawed and hides hidden agendas. Personally I think the appeal to COS is a good thing. When that happens we are sending a clear signal to our players and the rest of the chess community that proper appeals is a good thing when you feel the rules have been infringed. And you cannot be banned for calling in the arbiter. But lets not whack the other players while we are doing it. This appeal is about the election of the President and nothing else. So let the arbiter do his job and then the States vote in the President that they really want according to the rules. And then we all accept the results and settle down to work hard to bring Malaysian chess to where we deserve to be.

Note: If we use the methods of Jimmy, Peter and Eddy we will all become just like them and we will never be able to improve. The rest of MCF's history will be about knocking out people we do not like and replacing one "gang" with another. And all our efforts will be washed down the drain. That is the lesson we must learn in order to move forward. It must be about issues and not personalities. And if you pardon my french, the Council also needs to grow some balls.

Don't make this about hate but about improvement and a stronger Malaysia in chess. Do it for the players, the kids and for the love of chess. 

Thank you for your time and for allowing me the chance to express my opinion about the EGM here. I am a member of the chess community and I too have contributed my part towards improvement in Malaysian chess.

The MCF story, from AGM to EGM. Part 3.

Part 1. Here.

Part 2. Here.

What went wrong and who is responsible. This is very very important to understand first or the EGM will probably not bring any results towards the goal we want to achieve. The complaints were not only about Peter. Directly after Peter made his demands on Datcc, I hear that Tse Pin also made similar but not identical demands on Cerdik. And I also hear that threats have been hurled at the States and the people who signed the petition that they too will be banned.

Lets slow down here. I am now going to tell you that it is all a storm in a tea cup. Please try to see why I am saying this. So let us go back to the Constitution but lets us first understand that all authority in MCF flows from the source which are the States. This is very very important. Without the States' mandate MCF has ZERO authority. Is that clear before we proceed?

And that mandate goes directly to the elected COUNCIL and not to the individual officers. So each officer has only as much authority as the full COUNCIL gives them.

So directly after the disputed AGM, the re-elected President appointed more officials. Were the procedures followed? Did the Council approve the appointees as stipulated in the Constitution? The President only has casting vote in case of a tie. That is all he has.

The very next thing on the agenda should have been the voting rights of the approved appointed officials. Do they have any voting rights in Council deliberations? Only the full Council can decide that; with the President only having the casting vote. After that decisions must be made by the full Council again to see how much authority will be given to each official under the given portfolios. They may have zero authority and can only make recommendations to the elected Council. This again is subject to the Councils deliberation.

I am fairly sure that none of this was done. So every ruling made on banning Kedah, banning the other States and petitioners or banning players who attend Cerdik's tournaments etc has no basis. It is all ultra vires and beyond the authority of the people issuing the threats. Can you also see now that Peter's demand on Datcc is also just a bluff? Where is his authority to make such a demand?

So what went wrong?

The very first thing that went wrong was that the Council did not know the Constitution and the extent of the authority vested in them. 

This needs to change first. Particularly in MCF since we elect our Presidents based on their contacts in the market to bring funding into the sport and not for any knowledge per se of the sport itself. So the Council must work or a few people with the President's ears can hijack the whole MCF as has often been done in the past by different "gangs" at different times.

And so who is responsible for the mess we are now in again? I will leave that question for you to reflect on before my next part. I will only say this. In chess, when the player does not put up his hand and call for the arbiter when the rules have been infringed, does he/she deserve to lose?

Next: Why is the motion as shown on X-pose flawed?

Philippines- 2013 National chess championship-semi finals-mens division.

Ref: Here.

This is how GM's are made.

I remember my good friend Norlito explaining the structure to me but perhaps I was a little distracted then since I can't recall exact details. His son is Paulo Bersamina, the National Junior Champion there and Mark's training partner. If I remember correctly, a number from this tournament (more than 3 for sure) will go on to meet the GM's. And they have many there. Iron sharpen iron. And from there they select the Olympiad squad.

In Malaysia, we have now reached the stage where our top IM's are at the same level as a player trained in China who was only a 1900 during our recent National Close. Isn't that a huge wake up call for us all? But what are we doing now instead of figuring out why we have dropped so far and how we can reverse this trend?

Recently I heard somebody defending the past record of MCF. Boy oh boy.....

Before I forget, Good luck Pau. May the force be with you.

The MCF Story, from AGM to EGM. Part 2.

Part 1. Here.

Directly after the AGM, I had a long conversation with one of the elected Council member and we reached an agreement. We both agreed that there were many things wrong with MCF and change was needed. And we also agreed that MCF needed time to make those changes. So I agreed not to write about the many things I was still hearing about so long as effort was put in to correct them.

And so I decided to continue to place my trust in the process again and when there were attempts to block Mark's entry to the National Close, I didn't write about it. I went through the proper channels and the issue was resolved. In my mind that was a small sign of positive development.

Then I heard that Peter Long tried to block Zuhri from going to Asean and then tried to withold the refund due him from World Youth to the sum of RM10,000. And that too was resolved which demonstrated that there are some people in MCF with a sense of right and wrong.

Then I heard that Peter wrote to Datcc to ask them to submit a whole host of information about Datcc to KLCA in order to continue to organise in KL. The killer wordings so I am told, was that he injected words to the effect that even if all was in order and Datcc is duly and legally registered, KLCA may still bar Datcc on the grounds of whether Peter gets along with the organiser or not. This was a whammy since there is nobody in any of the divides/camps that gets along with Peter or that Peter likes. Then I heard that a number of organisers in KL chose not to organise events anymore etc etc.

On an almost daily basis or so it seems I hear of something or another about Peter and his antics. Now the point is this. Whether it is 100% true or not those are the stories floating around and this affects perception. Perhaps there were some exaggerations, perhaps not but still the net effect was that MCF could not settle down and start solving 30 plus year old problems simply because new ones were created almost everyday.

By and large MCF was reduced to fire fighting instead of looking into many pressing issues that needed attention. But MCF still remained functioning in a manner but something else is happening is it not? How do you think Zuhri felt when they tried to bar him from going to Asean with his very young son and not return his money promptly as was due to him? What do you think the organisers, who had been working hard to keep KL in the fight when KLCA did not function for all those years, felt about those conditions to Datcc?

Where would all those fanned up angry energy go to? Peter keeps rubbing more salt into old wounds. But things were still barely in balance although there were still talk of an EGM here and there. However there was still not enough energy in the people who had fought hard to get a contest into the AGM to get back into the fight again. Basically we were all tired and just wanted to go back to developing our chess and business. And so we left the responsibility to the people who were now inside the new MCF to get their job done.

And so I didn't write about the many many events that people were telling me as agreed with the Council member. Then came the tsunami. Somebody in their "wisdom" decided to ban Kedah. As far as I can see this became the tipping point. Suddenly everyone who had just previously wanted to get on with their lifes became super riled up again. And then the States responded with the petition.

The collective wisdom of MCF has failed. They now seem to be on a self destruct path, likening to the personality of Peter Long. And so we are now in crisis yet again.

What I now see in the new developments is that people who were sidelined from MCF for good reasons during the AGM are now using this opportunity to make a come back. So is this EGM going to be a good thing? I am not so sure. The author of X-pose has never in the time that I have known him, stood on principle. Go back to the history of his previous stand on issues from his blog. Why the sudden reversal in position now?

In my next part I will ask many questions that I think needs to be answered before we jump into an EGM. Otherwise the EGM may just bring us right back to the dark ages again if we are not careful.

Next: What actually went wrong and who was responsible?

This is how it works.

Yesterday (22nd July) at 09:15am, in Minami-ku, Saitama-Shi JR Minami Urawa station, a 30-year-old lady slipped into the gap between the train and the platform when boarding the Keihin Tohoku line. She was stuck at her waist.

About 40 passengers, both on the platform and from the train carriage, came out to help push the train away from the platform so as to rescue the lady. The lady was later brought to the hospital and was reported to have no significant injuries.

When the incident happened, the train staff made an announcement apologizing that the train has been delayed because someone got stuck in the platform gap. Instead of grudging or complaining about the delay during the rush hour, several train passengers voluntarily got off the train to help the train staff rescue the lady. Within moments, everyone got off their seat to join in the rescue.

Guess what?
The Keihin-Tohoku line went back into service within 8 minutes.

The MCF story, from AGM to EGM. Part 1.

Ref: Here.

After checking I believe that the above post is more or less accurate. However I am a little dubious about the motions being proposed as well as the intentions of the author. To see this issue more accurately let us go back a little into the past and also let us see what we were trying to achieve during the AGM.

The revolt during the AGM happened for many reasons. Some of us were aghast that the authority invested in MCF/Associations were used to sack or suspend innocent officials without grounds and/or due process, some of us were fed up with the lack of success in MCF for the last 30 plus years. Some of us did not like how selection was done via PR campaigns and how undeserving players were given places to play for the National squad. And some of us were tired of how some officials used their authority in the State Associations or MCF to attack private organisers and trainers/coaches and so subvert the development of chess in Malaysia etc etc etc.

It was a big mess before and we had all hoped that a rejuvenated MCF can bring in some positive change. So directly after the AGM, opinions were divided as to whether the objectives were achieved or not. Perhaps some were still dissatisfied but by and large many of us accepted the results after a long tough fight and continued to try to work with the new MCF to achieve the same goals.

And there were some positive changes. We got some sort of selection for the senior squad at National Close and the Malaysian Masters and there were no more banning of players without grounds that I am aware of. (But it was not so straight forward. Mark still faced a lot of resistance getting to play at the National Close but some good officials intervened and so we finally managed to play.)

Note: The selection criteria were lop-sided, in my opinion, but when we chose to play that meant we accepted the criteria and we did not qualify. So nothing wrong there. We will just struggle again and argue our case to get fairer criteria for the next year or try to qualify within the given criteria if we are unsuccessful in getting any changes there. But at least we will know where the goal post is.

So it did seem that there were finally some check and balances and some way to resolve issues with the new MCF. So how did this "sudden" call for an EGM come about? That is the question now on many of our minds and that is what I will try to cover in the next part.

I am writing this in the hope that we will learn from the lessons so that this EGM, if it does come about, will bring in the changes that we had all hoped for. If we are not clear of the issues yet again then we may be looking at an "EEGM" or just simply go back to the dark old days again. So we need to be very careful about what the EGM will bring and hopefully not repeat past mistakes. And then still hope for positive change.

If that happens again then I believe this will just become another MCF story of so much wasted time and energy.

Next: The events that triggered the EGM call.

No postings for a few days.

There has been a lot of new information over the last few days. A few people seems to have also flip flopped on their past positions. So it is a very confusing picture being painted about what is happening within MCF right now. Give me some time to verify all the information before I write further.

All my best for Malaysian chess.

Off to SS2 Tournament tomorrow.

We will be travelling to KL tomorrow morning for the tournament in SS2. It's been a while since we have played in KL since day trips there are more taxing than playing in Penang or Kedah.

Here.

See you guys there.

Can a State be banned by the President of MCF for following due process?

The States are the source of all authority vested in MCF. And the States themselves get that authority from their member chess clubs which is populated by the players.

So does the President have carte blanche powers? Can he exercise authority beyond what is mandated to him? All he has is casting vote in case of a tie at Council deliberations. It says so in the Constitution. He cannot even bring in appointed Council members without the approval of the elected Council. That is also stated in the Constitution if anybody cares to read it.

There is a due process of appeals if any member within the structure feels that they have been unfairly treated. And both the chess clubs and the State Affiliates can appeal to COS within the law. Can they be banned for that? For following the law?

There were the questions I raised about unconstitutional sackings, about banning without grounds all those years ago. About using the authority vested in MCF to sabotage the training of the Juniors by a GM before International representation. About sabotaging thematics organised by a private entity outside of MCF. It's all the same thing. It is about the abuse of power to serve select vested interests.

A good anology is you being arrested and banned after going to the police to report a crime because they don't want you to tell anyone that a crime has been committed. If you do that then they cannot get more unsuspecting victims. If there is nothing to hide it would be a very different story would it not?

Can you now see how Malaysian chess has been sabotaged for all these years? Strong players sidelined, threatened and attacked so they do not dare to protest according to the law. Honest officials sacked without due process so that they can continue to abuse without resistance.

They are afraid of the truth and of the implementation of the law.

So let me remind you again. There is nothing wrong with our players. They are extremely talented and gifted and we have the resources to develop a GM. But there is something very seriously wrong with the way we are governed by MCF. Can we change this? Is the COS not mandated to oversee the development of Malaysian sports?

Isn't 30 plus years of failure enough wasted time? Lets continue to support those people inside and outside of MCF struggling to bring positive change to Malaysian chess. Let us not allow those very few fellas to take us back into the dark ages. Lets choose a side. Let us choose right over wrong.

Make no mistake. The small gains we have had recently have been hard fought to gain and a heavy price paid. But it can very easily be reversed if we become complacent.

There is no game without establishing the rules.

You may think that what I am saying is obvious, especially in a mind sport like chess. But this may not be the case. Consider this. Some may say that the President of MCF has carte blanche powers and does not need to consult the Council. Some may say that the Council members are the elected officials at the AGM mandated by the States and so only the full and elected Council are the ones with the authority and the President only has casting vote.

Consider this also. Some may say that fat numbers show the strongest players. Others may say that just a PR campaign is enough. And yet others say that the strongest players are the ones that win in a selection no matter what their numbers are at that time.

So there can be many opinions. Some may think they are playing normal chess and their opponents think they are playing losers chess. So who won the contest?

Clearly the rules need to be established. Otherwise chess will only be the cowboy's game in Malaysia. That is the first thing we need to set right. And only after that can we progress.

Are you seeing it now? Why we have been spinning our wheels in all these dramas while our neighbours are moving further and further away in terms of playing strength, skill and knowledge.

I think it will shortly become apparent why I am saying this now.

Do read this as well. Here.

All my best for Malaysian chess.

Why setting up chess clubs is important.

Under the COS system as I have been informed, chess clubs can speak directly to COS in cases of disputes. So in theory, the chess clubs officials are elected by the players, then the chess club officials elect the State Officials who then go on to elect the National Officials. That is the structure.

So this is from the conversation I had with an MCF Official recently. It seems some State Associations are not facilitating for the chess clubs to vote during their AGM's. So is this a problem?

This becomes a problem if players do not form chess clubs because they feel discouraged by the attitude of the State Associations. Why? Because without the chess clubs you will have no voice. So you must form it. If the State Association then does not involve you, you can take the matter up with COS. They are in infringement of the rules and you have every right to ask COS to intervene.

But there is more to consider. If the State Association does not involve the chess clubs, then legally they have no mandate to vote at the National AGM. This is important for MCF to make a stand on. State Associations without mandate should not be allowed to vote or take office...for finally this question must be asked....Who do they represent?

Do think on this. But in the meantime form your chess clubs and get it registered with COS and the State Associations. If there is a problem, use the process to solve it. Write in to COS. You are now inside the system as a chess club.

Trapped energies and potential.

I hope it is apparent to us all now that without change in MCF, we will be unable to progress. If we had used GM Ziaur properly things may be different today. If we had not allowed Jimmy and party to stop the training of our Juniors before International representation, things may be different today. If the thematics had been allowed to continue we may have seen different results at our last National Close.

MCF needs to govern fairly to all in the chess community. They cannot use the authority to protect their selfish business interests and their players via back doors and PR campaigns.

If this change does not come then all the effort of the State Associations to develop their players, all the private initiatives from those outside of MCF will come to nothing. All the energies and potential will be trapped.

This is what has been happening for 30 plus years and still the struggle within MCF today. Lets change our fortunes once and for all and leave the past behind us. Let us try to get a properly functioning MCF.

Is this also what is happening in MCF?

Ref: Here.

The "chess clubs" elect the State Officials. And presumably the chess clubs represent the players as was intended by COS. But then the chess clubs are ignored. The State AGM is only on paper and the chess clubs not called up to vote as I am informed happens in at least one "State Affliliate".

So in at least one State Affiliate there is no voice at all from the players. And somehow that State Affiliate is able to vote at the MCF AGM.

And when they get into MCF, they try to bend MCF into following their private agenda.

Don't you think something is wrong? Don't you think only genuine State Affiliates should be able to vote? Otherwise where is the mandate to govern coming from?

Our boy's in Kazan.

Ref: Here.

When I look at the results here, I cannot help but think... what if they had better training? We are now seeing Aron Teh jump leaps and bounds after training in China. The big big question is does the difference in results have anything to do with the training here? Ref: Here.

So why not let FGM do our Thematics when we tried to make a difference? If it doesn't work, the players will just stop coming isn't it? How would allowing FGM to continue with it's efforts make MCF look bad as was alluded on Jimmy's blog? Doesn't this type of result look much worse for MCF and begs the question what has MCF been doing for all these years? Questions, questions, questions yes? Will we ever be able to come to the right answers?

Are the right answers shown up better from the results on the table or do they come from PR campaigns?

Follow Aron Teh in Spain. With games to download.

Ref: Here.

My belief is that if we want to progress, we need to follow good examples. He is ranked 150 there.

Are there similarities between what is described in the discourse on the link below and MCF?

Ref: Here.

It is very dangerous to think of MCF as a business where the officials can use the authority vested in the Association to attack players not in their training "University" or to attack their better competitors in the market place.

And it is very dangerous to seek public office just to gain those type of power.

MCF is to serve the chess community and not the other way around. The chess community should not be seen as a captive bank account to enrich a few individuals no matter how badly MCF performs.

What we need to progress are more new ideas from a mind sport and not doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

We cannot progress by using the authority vested in MCF to kill off any new initiatives. If the idea is no good then the market place will take care of it. MCF should also not become the place of last refuge for people with no more ideas and cannot survive in the market place without a crutch. If they are of no use out there anymore what do you think they can bring into MCF?

Do think on this and decide for yourself.

Response to "What is MCF?"

Ref: Here.

I understand that there is now a move for an EGM to elect a new President. But my understanding is that it is because of the pressure from the State Associations requesting for one. So this explanation may not be very accurate. Ref: Here.

I am not going to split hairs with Eddy about whether MCF is an NGO or a "NSF". Ref: Here. For the readers who really want to know the technical difference, if any, google NGO's and look at the very broad and detailed definitions.

I believe the major difference in opinion from the largely 2 camps within MCF now is whether MCF should govern fairly and be impartial to all members of the chess community including private organisers/coaches and trainers or should MCF be used by select organisers/coaches and trainers to suppress certain private initiatives to give unfair advantage to the "players" which have the "MCF official's" support as per past practices.

That is the crux of the struggle today. And even the parents are split on this. I suppose those that have the inside track would support the continuation of the abuse of MCF authority and those that want their children to learn how to achieve their own goals via their own effort alone in clean competition and from a level playing field, would oppose.

That is what is at stake now.

For negative evidence I would ask you to look at what happened to Jimmy's game as an example of when the authority of MCF is abused and healthy competition is taken away from chess.

For positive evidence it may be wise for us to look at the example of Aron Teh. Ref: Here.

FGM is now working hard to try to re-introduce our Thematics so I sincerely hope we will see the end of the abuse of power to sabotage any further private initiatives.

I am very impressed by this man's thinking.

What do you think?  Here. Will Malaysian chess achieve this level of maturity?

Off to Penang tomorrow to play at New World.

Details here.

See you guys there.

Spot on again Marina.

Ref: Here.

I am reminded of our own struggle to get a properly working MCF/State Association. The prevalent argument when I first got involved in chess was that only "strong" chess players like Jimmy and Peter etc can have a voice and say on chess matters. And that is a problem isn't it? Running an organisation requires a lot of different skills and know how. And we need to learn how to cooperate to take us further. But some just can't seem to understand that.

Feedback from Syuen.

During the Syuen tournament many parents came up to me to ask me questions about this post I wrote. Ref: Here.

And so there were many enquiries about the Thematics I organised in 2011. Ref: here.

I spent a great deal of time during Syuen explaining how the Thematics work and why they are essential for us to progress faster as well as why FGM decided to abort trying to do anymore. It's all here on this blog if you care to look back. Basically we got tired of Jimmy and party attacking us, our players and sponsors and MCF doing nothing to protect our interests.

But since there is such a strong call to bring back the Thematics this time, I have spent the last few days talking to my supporters to see if they are still interested to support this effort again. So far the response is positive.

So I really hope that we will not face these problems again. Ref: Here. The job of MCF and the State Associations is to do grassroots work, to do National events and State events. More importantly it is there to provide an environment and a level playing field where private entities can come in to provide value added services.

Recently we heard more stories of people using the authority of MCF to attack other private organisers ref: here. But I also hear that this time there are good people within MCF who are pushing for the end of the abuse of power in our Associations. So there is hope yet.

I ask you my readers to consider this. How much time have we lost because of these people's attempt to sabotage Malaysian chess? Would we have been able to mount a better challenge to a Malaysian player trained in China if the Thematics were not sabotaged? Water under the bridge now right? I ask you to look back and recognise the struggle taken up by FGM and others to even bring us selection. Do you recall what had happened over the last few years? Do you remember what it was like before; when our senior players represented our Country without selection? When it was all back doors and selection by PR campaigns?

So continue to support change for the better. I will come back to you shortly with news of the next Thematics.

Meanwhile we will be playing in Penang this weekend at New World. See you guys there.