PETALING JAYA: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin has hinted at wanting to continue leading the governing body as there are missions that still need to be accomplished under his leadership.
Speaking to Bernama, the 58-year-old figure said that among the things still in focus were the construction of the National Training Centre (NTC) and the new FAM headquarters in Putrajaya.
He said he also wanted to see the Harimau Malaya squad create history by advancing to the third round of the World Cup Qualifying campaign for the first time.
"People are asking me to step down, they don't know the real situation, so I am not influenced by that. My interest in football is what keeps me here.
"So let the matter (regarding the position) follow the procedures according to the existing rules, next year there will be elections, I'm okay, whoever wants to compete can compete," he said during a special interview session with Bernama at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya here, today.
At the same time, Hamidin, who has been FAM president since 2018, said his decision to continue leading the parent body also depended on the requests from affiliate members.
Meanwhile, he denied that he would only step down after seeing all his legacy plans come to fruition.
"Not necessarily, I will leave when the time comes," he said.
There have been recent calls for Hamidin to step down due to alleged dissatisfaction with his performance as president following the emergence of a poison pen letter denigrating FAM's leadership and management at the end of March.
The local media has linked several names with the position of late, including Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin, both of whom have experience in FAM.
Also linked to the top position at FAM are two individuals from the corporate world, namely Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din and Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail.
Khairy and Tengku Zafrul have both dismissed their interest in the position due to their current commitments while Mohamad Salim declined to comment on the matter.
The FAM Election Congress for the 2025-2029 term is scheduled for next year. -- Bernama