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Chitchat Zainuddin and his 7 years in FAS

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...uresh-nair-will-not-comply-with-fas-demand-to

Football: Freelance journalist Suresh Nair will not comply with FAS' demand to apologise

SINGAPORE - One day after he was issued a cease-and-desist letter by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), freelance journalist Suresh Nair said on Sunday (June 25) that he will not be complying with the association's demand for an apology.

The FAS served Nair the letter in response to two articles he wrote about the resignation of Tampines Rovers chairman Krishna Ramachandra last week.

In the articles, he cited sources saying that Krishna's private resignation note had been leaked to the media by the FAS council.

The articles appeared on socio-political website The Independent and Malaysian sports news website Sports247my.

In its letter, the FAS executive committee demanded the writer publish an apology on the websites, give an undertaking that he would cease and desist from making such allegations and confirm to the FAS whether his anonymous sources are true or fictitious.

In a statement, FAS president Lim Kia Tong told The Straits Times: "In his article, he makes a very serious allegation that members of the FAS Council leaked the resignation letter of Mr Krishna Ramachandra from his position as Tampines Rovers Football Club chairman to the media.

"His claim is false and baseless and is written to intentionally smear the reputation of the FAS and its leadership."

However, Nair, 62, told ST: "I see no reason to retract my statements or to agree to any of their demands. I'm absolutely able to substantiate the truth of what I've written, my follow-up interviews stand true in fact and substance.

"I'm not obliged to reveal my sources and I know, as a sports journalist with three decades' experience, that I'm protected by fair comment and privilege defences."

He added: "I'm also prepared, without prejudice, to clear the air with a heart-to-heart meeting."

Nair, a refereeing instructor and former journalist, had tried to run for one of the individual council member positions at the April 29 FAS election. But he was disqualified after failing the eligibility and integrity checks.

The article:

http://www.sports247.my/v1/2017/06/tampines-rovers-leaking-resign-note-not-fair-play/


Tampines Rovers: Leaking resign-note is not fair play


CONSPIRACY theories continue to swirl at Singapore’s No 1 football club Tampines Rovers after chairman Krishna Ramachandra gave indications he was stepping down soon.

Close family members and friends say that Krishna wrote to Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Chairman Lim Kia Tong and Deputy President Bernard Tan with a copy to SportSingapore Chief Executive Officer Lim Teck Yin earlier this week.

He wanted to formally inform his constituency bosses, including Mayor of North East CDC & MP for Tampines GRC Desmond Choo, and make a dignified move, since it’s rush-hour now, midway through the S-League season.

But his private script is believed to have been deliberately circulated, in an apparent move to embarrass him, say close friends.

Now more impassioned smoke is coming from the five-time S-League champion that the boss’s restricted note to FAS big-wigs was probably leaked out to the media, which has reportedly made the 46-year-old lawyer see red.

Krishna declined to comment on the matter but close friends said he is “very disappointed and disgruntled that an internal note had been revealed”.

A S-League club vice-chairman, who asked not to be named, says: “It looks like he was sold down the river, a double-cross by the FAS leadership to smear Krishna. This is not honourable or humane to do.”

Krishna’s contentious relation with newcomer FAS Vice President Teo Hock Seng, the former Tampines Rovers president, also surfaced because there was reportedly bad blood after he took over the club in November 2015.

“The FAS top management has done this in very bad taste. They appear to have revealed the information to make Krishna look like a scapegoat. Such confidential notes must remain confidential,” said another FAS club official, who declined to be named.

Krishna is a top-ranked lawyer, who is Managing Director of Duane Morris & Selvam LLP in Singapore and of Selvam & Partners LLC in Myanmar. He is head of the Corporate Finance and Investment and Private Client Practice Groups.

MEDIA STATEMENT

He was not available for comment but in a media statement, he said the demands of his work meant he could no longer fulfill his role “at the level of intensity that is needed”.

“I intend to step down as chairman of TRFC in the coming weeks, in any event no earlier than after TRFC’s 2016 accounts have been audited and finalised. I will be dealing with all outstanding queries relating to TRFC’s statement of accounts before stepping down,” said Krishna, who was part of the Game Changers team which lost in the FAS election in April.

He will, however, remain as a committee member and help guide the new chairman. It is believed the club has proposed a candidate to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and is awaiting confirmation.

The outgoing chairman said he has loaned the club over $1 million and said the club is in a sound financial situation for now.

He said: “I have absolutely no regrets on the footballing experience I have had in the last six over years and I will certainly continue supporting Singapore football.”

UNHAPPY TAMPINES MOOD
The mood at Tampines Rovers, who are second in the S-League behind champion Albirex Niigata with 24 points from 11 matches, was one of dejection and despondency. Team officials and players shook their heads disappointed.

General Manager Desmund Khusnin said: “I’m very sad to see him resign but I’m glad he is still in the committee. I know first-hand he really cares for players and staff. His efforts and creative ways of raising the profile of the club and football in general should be applauded. I do hope he carry on contributing to Singapore football with his energy and out-of-box ideas.”

Award-winning SNOC ‘Coach of the Year 1981’ Jita Singh, who is overseeing youth development at Tampines, described Krishna as “brash, young and charismatic”.

He explains: “He’s got his own unique style of management like Nadesan Ganesan (former FAS Chairman of the mid-1970s). It was a learning experience for me, too, to adapt to his ways but he’s got a very big heart for the club and whatever he does, he means well, without being vindictive.”

Tampines Under-17 head coach P. Sugunan adds: “He’s an energetic chairman who loves football and enjoys the game very much. A football-thinking man I admire and look up too. He had plenty of dreams for Tampines and Singapore and it’s sad it has come to this crunch.”

DEMANDS OF LEGAL WORK
Corporate lawyer and former S-League Geylang International Vice-President Lau Kok Keng pointed to the “demands of legal work against the pressures of a top club chairman”. He says: “Based on the reason given by Krishna – that the demands of his work meant he could no longer fulfill his role as Chairman – I’m not at all surprised by his decision to step down.

“It can’t be easy helming a club with an illustrious history like Tampines Rovers. Even a seasoned official like Teo Hock Seng gave up the club’s chairmanship due to age and poor health (as reported), but still had enough in his tank to run for and serve in the FAS Council after leaving the club. That says something about the commitment to time and effort that is required to manage Tampines Rovers.

“Krishna is also first and foremost a practising lawyer, and managing a successful law firm in an increasingly highly competitive legal landscape here is no mean task. Time is a finite quantity, and he is entitled to decide which community projects his time is best spent on, having regard to the output that is produced, the environment within which he has to function, and the value his efforts can add and the material difference he can make to the project. That goes for every other volunteer official as well, including Krishna’s successor at Tampines Rovers.”

The coming weeks will decide the respective fallouts of Krishna’s unexpected exit. Back of his mind will surely be painful memories to how confidential notes to FAS President Lim Kia Tong were unsportingly exposed.

Make no apologies FAS, this is just not fair play! – BY SURESH NAIR

Suresh Nair is a Singapore-based journalist, who was a Board Member of Tampines Rovers when the S-League started in 1996.
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2017
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
So will FAS sue or be seek a Parliamentary session. FAS also has nothing better to do. Waste time and money on this guy and on a article that is petty and trivial at best.

http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...uresh-nair-will-not-comply-with-fas-demand-to

Football: Freelance journalist Suresh Nair will not comply with FAS' demand to apologise

SINGAPORE - One day after he was issued a cease-and-desist letter by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), freelance journalist Suresh Nair said on Sunday (June 25) that he will not be complying with the association's demand for an apology.

The FAS served Nair the letter in response to two articles he wrote about the resignation of Tampines Rovers chairman Krishna Ramachandra last week.
 

LITTLEREDDOT

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset

Football: No charges against ex-FAS chief Zainudin Nordin, general secretary Winston Lee, over 2017 raids: AGC​

Zainudin Nordin (right) was FAS president from 2009 to 2017, while Winston Lee served as its general secretary for nine years and resigned in Dec 2017.



Zainudin Nordin (right) was FAS president from 2009 to 2017, while Winston Lee served as its general secretary for nine years and resigned in Dec 2017.
PHOTOS: ST FILE
saa2.png


Sazali Abdul Aziz
Correspondent

Sep 26, 2021

SINGAPORE - Former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) senior officials Zainudin Nordin and Winston Lee will face no charges as part of the years-long investigation into the alleged misuse of funds at local football clubs.
Former Member of Parliament Zainudin was FAS president from 2009 to 2017, while Lee served as its general secretary for nine years and resigned in December 2017.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) said: "AGC has recently directed the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to take no further action against Zainudin Bin Nordin and Winston Lee.
"AGC is still in consultation with the CAD to review the CAD's investigation findings against other individuals and is therefore unable to comment on the case at this juncture."
The AGC did not name the other individuals involved in the case but it was reported previously that Zainudin, Lee, Hougang United chairman Bill Ng and his wife Bonnie Wong had been arrested and questioned by the CAD.
ST has reached out to Zainudin and Lee for comment.

The AGC's statement is the first major development in the case, which rocked the local sports scene almost 4 ½ years ago, in April 2017.
Then, the FAS was in the midst of conducting the first election in its history. Previous FAS council members had been appointed by the government.
Ng had led a team called the Game Changers, who were up against a team led by then FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong.
It was during the hustings that a stunning revelation was made by the Game Changers: Tiong Bahru Football Club - an amateur side also run by Ng - had made a $500,000 donation to the Asean Football Federation through the FAS.
The revelation led to a public verbal spat between Ng and Lee.
Ng said Lee was chiefly responsible for the donation, while Lee countered by claiming Ng was aware of the transaction and that Zainudin was involved.
The accusations prompted national agency Sport Singapore to make a police report against Tiong Bahru over the suspected misuse of club funds and a purported attempt by a senior officer of the club to obstruct the completion of audits into several clubs which were then not taking part in the professional S-League (since renamed the Singapore Premier League).
As part of investigations, CAD officers conducted raids at the FAS offices at the Jalan Besar Stadium and three clubs linked to Ng - Hougang, Tiong Bahru and sit-out club Woodlands Wellington - seizing documents and computers.
Lim went on to win the 2017 election.
In April 2021, three weeks before the FAS held its elections, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam gave an update in Parliament that the AGC was reviewing the CAD's investigation findings.
At the elections, Lim was returned unopposed for a second four-year term.

A timeline of the FAS saga​

March 2017​

The FAS announces an April 29 date for the elections, the first in its history.
It is reported that FAS general secretary Winston Lee is considering leaving the FAS following the elections.

April 14, 2017​

Hougang United chairman Bill Ng, leading a team called the Game Changers who are up against a team led by former FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong, unveils his team's manifesto.
At the event, Ng claims he has donated about $850,000 to the FAS but is not sure how the money was spent.
He tells those present to "call Winston Lee" to find out what happened to the money.
The sum includes a $500,000 donation through amateur club Tiong Bahru, which Ng also runs. This raises eyebrows as the figure is double what the FAS spent on grassroots football the previous financial year.
Hours after Ng makes his claim, Lee explains that the $500,000 figure went toward a football management system for regional body the Asean Football Federation (AFF), and that Ng was fully aware of the transaction.

April 15, 2017​

FAS further explains that Zainudin had asked Ng to make the $500,000 donation to the AFF.
Lim says Zainudin never mentioned the donation in any FAS council meeting.

April 16, 2017​

National agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) steps in, saying it requires "the new council to provide a complete and satisfactory report on the management of these matters".

April 18, 2017​

FAS produces copies of a letter, cheques and payment vouchers, to prove that Ng knew about, and signed off on, the $500,000 donation.
Ng counters by saying he merely followed Lee's instructions and copied the contents of an e-mail from Lee onto the letterhead of Tiong Bahru.

April 20, 2017​

Police conduct raids at the FAS offices at the Jalan Besar Stadium and three clubs linked to Ng -Hougang, Tiong Bahru and sit-out club Woodlands Wellington.
This comes after SportSG makes a police report against Tiong Bahru over the suspected misuse of club funds and a purported attempt by a senior officer of the club to obstruct the completion of audits into several clubs which are not taking part in the S-League.
Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) officers seize documents and computers in the operation, which wraps up just after 2am.
It later emerges that Lee, Zainudin, Ng and his wife Bonnie Wong are arrested and questioned by the CAD.

April 22, 2017​

ST obtains documents which show that Tiong Bahru's clubhouse at People's Park Centre took in $36.8 million the previous year - an amount which eclipses the FAS' budget of $35.8 million for the same period.
The landlord of the clubhouse, which has 29 jackpot machines, is a company that lists Wong as the majority shareholder.
Other documents show links between Ng and Zainudin outside of football. For example, Zainudin was listed as a director of ESW Manage, a company on the portfolio of Financial Frontiers, a global equity firm Ng founded.

April 24, 2017​

ST reports that Lee, Zainudin, Ng and Wong are out on police bail.
The ad-hoc FAS electoral committee says that despite the arrests and police investigation, the polls will go ahead and only Fifa can step in to stop it.

April 29, 2017​

Lim is elected FAS president after his team wins the vote 30-13.
Ng takes a step toward reconciliation by congratulating the winning team and offers his backing for local football's new leaders, who will serve a four-year term.

May 2017​

All three football clubhouses raided by the CAD reopen for business, having suspended their operations since the April 20 operation.

July 2017​

The Ministry of Home Affairs announces tighter regulations on jackpot licences for sports clubs in an effort to reduce the number of machines over the next two years.
The new rules also target football clubs that have jackpot revenue but do not field a professional team.

December 2017​

Lee resigns as FAS general secretary. He had been with the organisation for 18 years, wearing multiple hats, including that of S-League chief executive officer.
Yazeen Buhari, the deputy general secretary of the FAS, takes over as acting general secretary. His role becomes permanent in September 2018.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC​

First group of School Football Academies could be ready by 2022, says FAS deputy president

Football: Former Singapore international K. Kannan appeals against lifetime ban

December 2018​

FAS nominates Lee for one of nine seats on the executive committee of Asian football body the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Members of the nine-strong FAS council are said to be upset that they had not been consulted on the nomination.
Hours before the AFC's congress in April 2019, Lee withdraws his candidacy.

April 2021​

Three weeks before the FAS holds its elections, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam says in Parliament that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) is reviewing the CAD's investigation findings.
At the elections, Lim is returned unopposed for a second four-year term.

September 2021​

In response to queries from ST, the AGC says it has directed the CAD to take no further action against Lee and Zainudin.
It adds that it is still in consultation with the CAD to review their investigation findings against other individuals involved in the case.
 
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