Prince Abdullah is also credited for the second re-engineering of merged Malaysian hockey which brought the men’s and women’s hockey under one umbrella – the Malaysian Hockey Confederation – at the beginning of this year. The restructuring involved a completely new paradigm of management where hockey in Malaysia is managed under one governing body – a unique structure indeed where the ratio of men and women is absolutely equal. All positions are open for either gender to contest.
The first restructuring of merged hockey was done on 16th July 2005.
THE Malaysian Hockey Federation, as the Malaysian Hockey Confederation was then known as, was formed in 1954 after Singapore went their way. Herman Marie De Souza was elected president and Kandiah Aryaduray the secretary. Sir Gerald Templer, the supremo of Malaya and Sir Donald MacGillivray the High Commissioner of Federation of Malaya, were roped in as Patrons.
Before going separate ways, after the end of the North versus South hockey match at the end of the 1947-48 season in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from the Hockey Associations of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore met.
Singapore Hockey Association president Sir George E.N. Oehlers formally proposed, “that a body governing the game of hockey in the Federation of Malaya and the Colony of Singapore be formed and that such a body be called the Malayan Hockey Council”. Sir George was duly elected the first president.
With that came the quadrangular hockey over the weekends during the hockey season and the introduction of the Malayan Championships in 1951 put the game on a higher level in the country. The exploits of the legendary Indians in the Olympics – they had won five titles since the 1928 Amsterdam Games, and the fifth was at the 1952 Helsinki Games – fired the imagination of hockey enthusiasts in Malaya.
Olympic participation is through the Olympic Council and the Malayan Hockey Council did the needful, with the Amateur Athletics Union of Malaya. They met at the PWD Sports Club in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 15, 1953 at 11.30am and the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council was born 35 minutes later.
And Malaya were ready for their first international outing – the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and have never looked back since.
Past records reveal that the first formal match played in Malaya was between Harris’ XI and Whitley’s XI on Nov 30, 1898 in Kuala Lumpur. Inter-club matches were played between Selangor and Singapore as early as 1904. Other British-dominated clubs in Malacca, 1poh and Penang also had their matches and by 1920 there were more Malays playing the game. The Federated Malay States versus Colony series was started in 1925.
Penang claim to have formed the first State Hockey Association, though all records were lost during the World War Two, the “memory of the old-timers” says the association took shape about the 1924-25 season.
Perak, however, were the first to officially form a State Hockey Association and this was in October 1927, and so too were Negeri Sembilan. And in Perak, the Constitution was amended in 1936 to provide for District Hockey Association. Six districts formed their Hockey Association the same year.
Records show that the game was played at club level in 1931 by Tamilians’ Physical Cultural Association (TPCA), Selangor Malays and Selangor Chinese Recreation Club in Kuala Lumpur. The game went “international” with the visit of the Indian Olympic team in 1932. The Indians treated the local fans to a delightful display of hockey on their way to a 7-0 win over the Malayan Xl.
By the 1930s, regular inter-state matches were held. The 1939 records show that Selangor were a hot number, beating Negeri Sembilan 9-0 on Nov 4, Malacca 2-0 on Nov 18 and Penang 1-0 on Dec 2. Hockey was up and running in the country and the game was played at club and district levels nationwide by the late 30s.
The hockey season ended with the classic North vs South match. North was made up of Kedah. Penang, Perak, Pahang and Selangor while South had Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore.
