The Sharifah's of Malaysian chess.

Ref: Here.

So Sharifah wants to forgive Bawani. Obviously she does not think she has done anything wrong. What has happened to her sense of values?

I was thinking about a conversation I had with a former Perak player on facebook recently. She told me that many youths are terrified of the authorities. I didn't respond directly to that statement but I have been thinking about it since.

Let me now recollect an incident at a Perak chess tournament. A young girl had won her game with good chances to become Perak Champ that year. She was surrounded by her teachers who forced her to declare her game was a draw. So it was obvious to her at that time that this was wrong and she cried her heart out. Now these same teachers will also be the people who will correct her in school if she breaks any rules.

Lets pause here. Right has become wrong before. And the same people now enforces what is right. Isn't that confusing? What is the message? Isn't it saying that there is no right and wrong unless the people in authority say it is so? So how do we develop a sense of moral values in our kids this way?

Can they now not eventually grow into another Sharifah where everything becomes muddled if that is not corrected?

Why am I talking about this now? I just got some feedback that things have now moved to making threats of police reports going into the AGM. But the funny thing is that the person making the threat has no basis. Somebody asked for an update from COS. That information is public. It is not protected by OSA. So what did he do wrong when he requested for the latest information to make informed decisions? Doesn't this MCF guy know that making a false police report is in itself a crime?

I was going to talk about the roles the committee members can play so that we have an effective MCF. Then I was going to talk about a way that may be a compromise so no party needs to land up in jail and put MCF in jeopardy of being delisted. But I think that may be one step too far into the murky future.

For now I think we still need to deeply think about what is right and what is wrong. What are we doing to our kids with an MCF that does not know what is right from what is wrong?

Would it too far a stretch to say that we have a number of Sharifah's in Malaysian chess? Lets make up our minds about this first before we go any further.

Think about this. What are we injecting into our kids when we use authority and fear to distort right from wrong? And with each exposure, with each tournament are our players not getting more and more fearful? Then how can we expect them to make tough decisions on the board based on their own judgement alone?

We have taken away their ability to evaluate. So lets get this right first before we talk about getting a GM. All of us know that selection is the way forward but we cannot even get this decision accepted. All our energies are taken away by a drama that does not have the players welfare in mind. Can we not see that?

Part 3 of the rise and fall....

Ref: Here.

I would like to see any Malaysian going for a GM run.

But this is partly how I would evaluate their chances. First I would see the company he keeps. As they say, "birds of the same feather flock together". I would also like to see how open their minds are to new ideas. His display of venom against any one who wants to explore new training methods, his orchestration of the attacks against an attempt to train the juniors before International competition etc. tells me more about who he is today.

His total intolerance to questions and his support of Peter's attempt to "ban" a National player because he did not like the questions of his father also speak volumes.

That and his training for SEA games by playing the Veterans of Malaysian Open speaks loudly.

There are many people who pretend at sophistication. I know many who display big books and speak smatterings to sound intelligent. But it's just an illusion.

Furthermore I see many of the anonymous comments as written by Jimmy himself. So I am concerned about the "Jimmy method" if this is the final product. As you know I send all my readers to him. I do not cut and paste or try to distort. So what is Jimmy showing us on his blog?

What do you think the Chess Community is seeing? As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

So very honestly I wouldn't hold my breathe or bet on this horse. The evidence shows me that he is a very bitter person way past his prime and hell bent on making sure no one surpasses his 1986 achievement. (Although that does not deserve the accolade of Asia's best or one of the best in my eyes.)

Note: Actually we see the "Jimmy method" reflected in almost every facet of our chess culture. Why do you think no one dared to ask about the criteria at NC2012? How can we progress in this climate?