Welcoming the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) proposal to revive the Harimau Muda programme, Wong said it is long overdue.
“(In a development) programme, you must have faith, you must have confidence, and you must go through that (rough) patch.
“The programme doesn’t yield results in one or two years. It will do so in 10 years.
“Any development programme will be costly,” he told FMT.
Last week, FAM president Hamidin Amin said he would be discussing a proposal to revive the Harimau Muda programme with youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh.
Hamidin said the team may even be sent abroad to play in foreign leagues, but added that FAM may have to bear a significant portion of the cost involved.
Wong, known affectionately as “King James” to local fans, questioned the decision to scrap the programme in 2015, arguing that it gave young players exposure in competitive settings and prepared them for senior roles.
He supports the idea of making them play abroad.
“However, they must be placed in strong leagues to play against stronger teams, so that they will be exposed and know what (it takes to be) formidable,” said Wong.
Meanwhile, former Harimau Malaya goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, a member of the team that won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, said his one-year spell with the team in 2007 taught him “precious” lessons that sped up his maturity as a footballer.
“It is mentally challenging as you are going up against teams with experienced players.
“It is not easy to (keep your) chin up when you lose, but if you can endure it, then you might be able to make it,” Khairul told FMT.
Khairul’s time in Harimau Muda earned him a loan spell and subsequently a permanent move to Kelantan FA. With him in goal, the Red Warriors made history by winning their first-ever treble in 2012 – the Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup.
Khairul’s Harimau Malaya teammate, Mahalli Jasuli – who was part of the Harimau Muda programme from 2008 to 2012 – recalled winning the Malaysia Premier League (MPL) in 2009, and the SEA Games gold medal in 2009 and 2011.
He said the programme had provided a strong foundation for him and other young footballers of his generation, adding that it could help the country move away from naturalising foreign players.
In the recent Asian Cup, Malaysia only managed to collect one point from three group matches despite having the highest number of naturalised players (14) in its 23-man squad of any country in the group.
Harimau Muda was Malaysia’s national Under-21 football team, acting as a feeder for the senior and Under-23 national squads. It won the MPL in 2009, before being split into Harimau Muda A and B due to scheduling conflicts between domestic and international matches.
Harimau Muda A was the Under-22 national football squad, while Harimau Muda B served the Under-21s respectively.
In 2015, FAM merged the teams into one before disbanding the programme altogether and returning all players to their state teams.