A marred championship

THE Merdeka team chess championship which begins next Friday at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur is supposed to be the jewel in the Malaysian Chess Federation’s (MCF) crown.

However, this year’s championship – despite it being the 20th anniversary edition – is being held under a cloud as the MCF grapples with the issue of filling its president’s post.

Several months ago, Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik, the former Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister who had been at the helm of the federation since 1988, reportedly resigned in a huff.

It is believed that he had interpreted a vaguely worded paragraph in an MCF internal memo as an oblique attempt by some quarters to hint at his continued usefulness to the federation, and he had decided then and there to sever his 13-year link with MCF.

I doubt my friends in the MCF council would want their long-serving president to go in such a manner. True, Sabbaruddin’s political fortunes today may be different from his heyday when he was a Federal Minister and also Umno secretary-general, but this is not good enough a reason to replace him so unceremoniously.

After all, it is not as if he had done nothing for Malaysian chess. Several high quality regional competitions were held here in the 1990s, in particular the Asian team and the Asian cities team championships, but the biggest feather in Sabbaruddin’s cap was undoubtedly the much-acclaimed match between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman in Kuala Lumpur 10 years ago.

With Sabbaruddin’s support, the Merdeka team chess championship has grown from strength to strength. That it is being held today at the PWTC is evidence of the role he had played to raise the profile and quality of this event.

Since his resignation, MCF has been twiddling its thumbs, not knowing where to proceed from here.

For the time being, MCF deputy president Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdul Aziz is reportedly overseeing the affairs of the federation as its acting president.

The MCF annual general meeting – and there should be one planned for this Merdeka team chess championship – should be a good time for MCF and its delegates to reflect on Sabbaruddin’s achievements.

If his resignation is non-retractable and MCF is forced to accept it, let the decision not leave a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth.

It is not unprecedented for MCF to honour certain people as an honorary life president. It is well within the federation’s constitution. MCF’s first president Datuk Tan Chin Nam was accorded this recognition when he stepped down in the 1980s and he is now considered an elder statesman in Malaysian chess.

I believe Sabbaruddin Chik can be similarly elevated in a week’s time, and I hope he will be gracious enough to accept the honour that comes from every Malaysian chess player’s heart.