The newly appointed head of the ad hoc committee overseeing the suspended Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA), Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos, expressed confidence of balancing his pickleball responsibilities alongside his duties in badminton administration.
MPA president Jahaberdeen, who was recently elected unopposed as the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association (KLBA) president, is also the deputy president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and has been tasked with leading efforts to restore governance and stability to MPA after months of administrative chaos.
Youth and Sports Minister Taufiq Johari had last month nominated Jahaberdeen to head a six-member ad hoc committee to manage the activities of MPA, following the association’s suspension amid an ongoing leadership struggle.
“Taking on this responsibility will not interfere with my duties as KLBA president.
“Governance and institutional reform have always been areas that I am deeply involved in, and I believe the experience I have gained over the years will allow me to manage both responsibilities effectively,” Jahaberdeen was quoted as saying by scoop.my.
He said restoring confidence in the national governing body remains the committee’s immediate priority.
“The priority now is to ensure that MPA is placed back on a strong governance footing. We want to create a transparent and accountable structure that all stakeholders can have confidence in.”
The committee, which also includes Datuk Dr Wan Khalik Wan Muhammad, Professor Datuk Dr S. Shamala, Associate Professor Dr P. Thinavan, Suhaimi Sun Abdullah and A’Amar Hashim, has been given a one-year mandate. However, Jahaberdeen believes the work can be completed much sooner.
“Although the committee has been given a year to oversee and manage the affairs of MPA, my personal target is to resolve the key governance issues within six months,” he said.
“There is no reason for this process to drag on unnecessarily. We intend to engage all relevant parties, identify the weaknesses that led to the current situation and implement the necessary reforms as quickly as possible.
“Our objective is clear. We want to clean up the association, review and strengthen its constitution, improve its governance framework and eventually return control to a properly elected leadership through a transparent AGM.”
The crisis in governance started when founding president Farrell Choo resigned on July 1, 2025. The leadership was then passed on to Treasurer Delima Ibrahim as acting president but this was challenged by deputy president Harmeet Singh who said the constitution of the association provided for the deputy president to automatically take over.
Following complaints and subsequent reviews, the Sports Commissioner’s Office (SCO) directed MPA to conduct fresh elections and resolve governance issues. The AGM was held in January, however the SCO later noted unresolved difficulties with the verification of affiliate membership and procedural violations.
The SCO had issued a show-cause letter on February 4 and suspended MPA on February 27 under the Sports Development Act 1997.
The MPA then challenged the decision that resulted in the establishment of the committee established by the minister.
“This is not entirely new territory for me. Throughout my involvement in sports administration, I have always been passionate about governance, integrity and ensuring that sports organizations operate according to proper rules and procedures,” he said.
“At the end of this exercise, our responsibility is to leave MPA in a better position than when we found it. Once our work is completed, we will submit a comprehensive report to the ministry and pave the way for fresh elections to be conducted under the supervision of the Sports Commissioner’s Office.”
Upon completing its mandate, the committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the Youth and Sports Ministry before fresh elections are conducted to restore elected leadership within MPA.
