Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will join more than 100 sports stars at Concorde Hotel here to celebrate Malaysia’s remarkable sporting past.
The athletes, coaches and officials are from the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, and many of them turned obstacles into opportunities and found triumphs on the global stage.
Sports Flame co-founder Lazarus Rokk said the royal couple’s presence will raise recognition for sportsmen and sportswomen who have helped build national pride in the past.
Rokk said everyone will be surprised by the presence of Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah at the gala because the previous gatherings were private affairs.
Sports Flame has been a centrepiece event since 2011, minus dignitaries, to honour Malaysia’s sporting heroes.
It was initiated in 2011 by four former sports journalists, George Das, R Velu, Fauzi Omar and Rokk, while this year’s edition is supported by FMT.
“The Agong was a former sportsman and administrator, and he will be coming as a friend as well,” Rokk said.
“We also saw it as an opportunity for the sports fraternity of yesteryear to bid them farewell as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong.”
Sultan Abdullah’s term as King ends on Jan 30, and he will be replaced by the sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
“As sportswriters, we got along well with the Agong because our personal relationships with him didn’t hinder our professional association.
“While we were able to dine and be friends, we were also able to constructively criticise without any repercussions,” Rokk said.
He said both Sultan Abdullah and his late father Sultan Ahmad Shah, who had helmed the national associations for football and hockey, were exceptional administrators.
“They accepted criticisms in good spirit and in the spirit of sportsmanship.
“Which is why until today, 37 years down the road, we are still good friends with the Agong,” Rokk added.
Sport has been a significant feature of Sultan Abdullah’s five-year reign, from attending events to hosting sports personalities at Istana Negara.
Last January, he most famously invited the triumphant 1967 Thomas Cup badminton players for tea at the palace as he felt they deserved more recognition for their victory.
In displaying a high sense of caring, he reinforced the need to jealously guard memories of momentous past achievements.
Yesterday, he hosted hockey veterans, including members of the 1975 World Cup team, officials and sports journalists who covered the sport in the 70s and 80s.