A recent constitutional amendment requires FTKLAA to merge with the federal territories of Putrajaya and Labuan before the AGM, when there will be elections for new office bearers.
Malaysia Athletics maintains that the amended constitution takes effect from Jan 15, when it was approved by the sports commissioner’s office, and not after the AGM.
FTKLAA says it is too short a time to form an umbrella body.
With the merger expected to take time, FTKLAA will miss the crucial opportunity to cast its three votes and contest leadership positions.
Labuan AA is currently an associate member of Malaysia Athletics, with no voting rights, while Putrajaya AA has never been a part of the national body.
The setback comes as a blow to FTKLAA which has been a key player in national athletics for decades.
Its officials said FTKLAA had been an affiliate of then Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) for over 40 years, and that Putrajaya and Labuan should have been granted affiliate status as well.
“Forming one entity is not an issue but we have not been given sufficient time to do the merger. Now, we are out of the AGM,” said an official.
FTKLAA did not receive an official invitation to attend the meeting of Malaysia Athletics’ council members yesterday. Its president V Pulainthiran was invited as an appointed council member.
FTKLAA secretary S Murugesu turned up for the meeting and was allowed in, but his request to carry out the merger after the AGM was denied.
There is speculation that Malaysia Athletics refused the postponement of the merger to stop Pulainthiran from challenging the incumbent president, Shahidan Kassim.
Pulainthiran said he had no intention of vying for the top post and that his sole focus was the development of athletics.
In 2022, Pulainthiran contested the deputy president’s post against Melaka AA’s Fadzil Abu Bakar and was tied at 18-18 votes. The deciding vote by the AGM chairman, SM Muthu, went to Fadzil.
Yesterday, Shahidan said he welcomed any challengers and that he would step aside if there was a more suitable candidate.
Pulainthiran said he had called for a council meeting on Saturday to discuss the fate of FTKLAA, as well as some confusion over the amended constitution.
One grey area relates to the decision of the sports commissioner’s office to compel Malaysia Athletics to hold its elections as required by June 30.
Malaysia Athletics had planned to push the polls to next year after the amendments to the constitution were approved.
The amendment extended the office-bearers’ terms from three to four years, with a limit of two terms. Previously, it was a maximum of three, three-year terms.
It came with the change of name from Malaysia Athletics Federation to Malaysia Athletics.
FTKLAA officials said events would proceed as scheduled during this period of non-recognition by Malaysia Athletics, as it is still a legal entity registered with the sports commissioner’s office.