KJ urges fans to join TMJ in Harimau's new journey
KUALA LUMPUR: KJ says let TMJ do something about it.
Ex-sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has urged football fans to let Harimau Malaya take a new direction under Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim after nothing else worked with the national team.
"Of course, there are people not happy with it. But for me, why not try? We've tried everything else, but everything else doesn't work well.
"So maybe with the approach and experience that Tunku Mahkota Ismail has with JDT (Johor Darul Ta'zim), we can see some success in the national team. Hopefully, the magic touch can happen with this national team project," said Khairy.
Khairy, who is a former FAM vice president, supports bold reforms for the national team, but warned against relying too heavily on naturalised players.
"The naturalisation project has benefits, like speeding up achievements for the national team. But at the same time, we must balance it.
"If there are too many (foreign players), our local players don't get opportunities. I always believe in balance. We've already agreed there is a policy on naturalisation and heritage players, whether people agree or not, it's there. But it must be implemented in a way that doesn't overshadow our homegrown talent."
Appointed as Johor Youth Adviser in 2023, Khairy has had a close-up view of how the Southern Tigers evolved into the nation's gold standard for football excellence under Tunku Mahkota Ismail.
"Of course, it's hard to compare JDT to other teams. JDT operate at a much higher capacity. Tunku Mahkota Ismail's target isn't just winning here. He wants to win at Asian Champions League Elite-level. He wants to be the best in Asia.
"So that's why the infrastructure of JDT is different. The structure of how they organise JDT is different. But I think other teams can learn the best practices from JDT.
"Of course, you can't have the budget of JDT, you can't have JDT facilities. But you can slowly build towards that by having professionals come in and structuring the way Tunku Mahkota Ismail does.
"For me, he has put a template. Not everyone can follow it immediately, but it's a template of a professionally run football club that is chasing regional and global victory, not just in Malaysia."
Khairy believes these same principles, such as professionalism, structure and vision, are what the national team need if they are to rise from mediocrity, along with a module that could be followed by other M-League teams too.
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