“I’m a patriot,” he told me.

For him, the promise of skill, discipline, and integrity on and off the pitch becomes a glorious symbol of better times ahead.

That’s how Rahim and his teammates from the 1960s and ’70s won honours and admiration for their sportsmanship.

They showed every young person that it’s possible to take control of your life and a ball, and whatever your background, become the best.

“Every time you pull on a Malaysia shirt you have the opportunity to create magic that lives with people for ever.

“That’s the upside of representing your country and it’s to be cherished,” he said in a recent conversation.

For all his honesty, the footballing life of Rahim was one of triumph and heartbreak.

If as a player he stood for honour and fair play, as a national coach he was betrayed by the very team he had hoped to instil the same values.

His trust was shattered at the 1991 SEA Games in the Philippines, where his leadership was eclipsed by suspected match-fixing.

A shocking defeat to the hosts, allegedly rigged by his own players, led to Malaysia’s humiliating exit.

According to Rahim, the solitary 84th minute goal was a ridiculously easy one, entirely out of character with his team.

“What some of them did was a disservice to the nation,” he blasted.

It was a betrayal that hurt Rahim deeply, but his name, unlike those who disgraced the nation, remained one of decency.

A gentleman of the game

“I believe it was not Rahim’s failure, but the disloyalty of some of his players,” said former national player and coach, M Karathu.

“Rahim was a true gentleman, passionate, enthusiastic and always totally committed to the cause.

“He was prepared to work the longest of hours in his search for the elixir of success,” added Karathu.

Rahim was part of the Karathu-captained Perak team that won the fourth Malaysia Cup in 1970.

Rahim’s other great peers like Soh Chin Ann and Santokh Singh recognise him as a decorated athlete and resolute police officer who served the nation admirably.

Chin Ann said: “Being a police officer, Rahim was disciplined and his teammates will attest to his no-nonsense attitude.

“He had a soft side of being a caring person, always looking out for his friends, even after retirement.”

Chin Ann, who is president of the ex-national and state footballers association, said Rahim’s legacy and friendship will be cherished forever.

Rahim quit playing football at the age of 25 due to injuries.

He retired from the police force with the rank of superintendent as deputy commandant of the Malaysian Police Training Centre (Pulapol).

Pride and joy

Rahim was the right winger in the Malaysia team who qualified for the 1972 Olympics by winning the East Asian qualifying tournament in Seoul a year earlier.

They defeated Japan (3-0), South Korea (1-0), Taiwan (3-0), and the Philippines (5-0) to join Burma and Iran in Munich.

Rahim talked fondly about the match against Japan, the 1968 Mexico Olympics bronze medallists.

And about how they outfoxed the Koreans who prepared for the tournament with a playing tour of South America.

Against Japan, who were powered by strikers Ryuichi Sugiyama and Kunishige Kamamoto, Dave McLaren-coached Malaysia thrived on speed and counterattacks.

Two goals from Syed Ahmad Abu Bakar and another through Looi Loon Teik sent the Japanese packing.

Two days later, Syed Ahmad’s goal sank the host nation, and it remains Harimau Malaya’s only victory over them on Korean soil.

Rahim, a small town boy from Nibong Tebal, Penang, went from playing football barefoot as a schoolboy to become an Olympian.

In the early 1970s, he won the Malaysia Cup with Selangor (four times) and Perak (once).

Rahim made his international debut in the 1971 South Vietnam Independence Cup after helping Perak win the 1970 Malaysia Cup.

Initially, Rahim represented Penang in the Malaysia Cup as left winger before he became a regular on the right flank with Harimau Malaya.

He contributed to one of the goals headed by the late Mokhtar Dahari in Malaysia’s 3-1 over Kuwait in the Merdeka Cup final in 1973.

Rahim said he took great pride in being a member of the first and only Malaysian football team that has played in the Olympics.

He was surprised that he was in the starting lineup in the opening Munich Olympics match against West Germany.

“Coach Jalil Che Din didn’t quite like me because I didn’t call him ‘tuan’, as he was a prison officer then,” he recalled in the FMT interview.

But he was in the good books of the team manager Harun Idris and German Dettmar Cramer, who was adviser to Jalil for the Olympics.

Rahim picked up a yellow card, and was substituted in the 70th minute. Malaysia lost 3-0 to the Germans, after holding them to a goalless draw in the first half.

Since Rahim was injured in that match, he missed the rest of the group matches, with Malaysia beating the United States 3-0 and losing 6-0 to Morocco.

Injuries forced him to retire a year later.

He then followed in the footsteps of Mohamad Bakar and M Chandran as the third player from the 1972 Munich Olympics squad to manage Harimau Malaya.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s Hall of Fame along with other members of the Munich Olympics team.

Rahim’s regrets

He regretted not being in control of the 1991 SEA Games squad.

Rahim lamented not being able to expose the truth about meddling officials during his shot tenure as national coach.

Both Rahim and his assistant Bakri Ibni didn’t get to apply their ideas because the then FA of Malaysia (FAM) technical director, the late N Raju, took the training sessions, and ran the team.

The coaches were dismayed that they left for Manila with a squad they had little influence over.

They were unhappy that the team manager, the late Bakar Daud, dictated the lineup on match days, and made the substitutions on the pitch.

Bakar had also insisted on fielding players who had not been serious in training or were unfit, said Rahim.

At the time of his appointment as Harimau Malaya boss, Rahim was highly successful as coach of the Royal Malaysia Police team.

Rahim suspected some of his players worked with betting syndicates, but he had no evidence.

On his return from Manila, he needed to be heard, but nobody listened.

He came up against the ‘look the other way’ FAM leadership. He stood virtually alone against them, and lost.

His distrust of some of the players was confirmed when they were arrested in 1994 for throwing matches in the Malaysia Cup and the Malaysia Premier League.

The bribery scandal led to the arrests of 230 players and officials, and destroyed Malaysian football.

Rahim felt ashamed and angry when people talked to him about the defeat by the Philippines.

He remained dejected until the end. A sad end to an otherwise brilliant career.