Two key changes announced yesterday on the FAM website were that 20 administration and technical staff will be laid off, while the name of the national team will revert to Harimau Malaya from Harimau Malaysia.
The old name was only introduced in February last year by the former president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is the crown prince of Pahang.
On the termination of 20 staff, FAM said it was to ensure the organisation meets its objective to manage and control the association’s finances.
“The affected staff have already been informed with notice and three months salary will be paid fully before April 15, FAM secretary-general Hamidin Mohd Amin said in a statement published on the FAM website.
He added that every unit and branch within FAM will be uniformed and combined based on the set organisation.
On changing the name of the national team to Harimau Malaya, Hamidin said it was only right as it was the original name.
According to FAM, the name change was decreed by Tunku Ismail, and it was also in line with the request by many fans to reuse the name based on various historic moments created by the national team during its glory days.
“Therefore, the official Harimau Malaysia website will be shut down immediately and all the latest info about Malaysian football will be updated on FAM’s official website,” Hamidin said.
Another point of note is how the FAM website and Facebook page is now being updated regularly. Football fans noted how “under the previous management”, the FAM website was hardly updated in days. However, now there are many updates within a single day.
This is believed to be part of the direction set by Tunku Ismail, who as owner of the Johor Darul Takzim club, had ensured that the Southern Tigers Facebook page was also similarly kept up to date to instill greater interaction with football fans.