KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) needs to ensure that the performance of the Harimau Malaya (national football team) is commensurate with the funding it has received, said local sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli.

This comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement today of a RM15-million allocation to transform the Harimau Malaya squad into an Asian Tiger, to take a leap in standards to become one of the football giants in the region.

In January 2022, former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced an allocation of RM10 million to FAM as support towards the development of football, while Anwar earlier this year said the government agreed to allocate RM5 million to manage and improve the ability of the national football squad after the Asian Cup in Qatar.

Pekan described FAM as the luckiest of national sports associations, as it has certainly become the envy of many other sports bodies because of the large windfall it just received in its kitty.

"The sum received is seen to be large and we are worried that it is not commensurate with the performance of the national squad at this point and also for the next year or two. (However) We know that football requires a lot of expenditure.

"However, there will be questions about ‘integrity and accountability’ in the process of how the allocation is utilised, a monitoring method is needed to ensure that the allocation is used for the purpose as approved by the government,” Pekan told Bernama.

During the Ministry of Finance monthly assembly this morning, Anwar announced a government allocation of RM10 million through the Ministry of Finance, while RM5 million is a commitment from the private sector to elevate Harimau Malaya.

Anwar, who is also the Minister of Finance, said the move was to ensure Harimau Malaya could guarantee the welfare of its players and employ the best managers and coaches.

He also said he would hold a meeting with FAM, as well as personally monitor and help in raising the profile of Harimau Malaya.

Meanwhile, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said in a statement that he will present the management structure of the Harimau Malaya squad to the prime minister. — Bernama