KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) clarified that national coach Kim Pan Gon and his coaching staff are not overpaid.
Instead, FAM said their monthly salaries are reasonable.
This clarification came from FAM president Hamidin Amin.
"In general, if we consider each individual's role in the team, their salaries range from US$5,000 (RM23,600) to US$10,000 (RM47,290), up to US$15,000 (RM70,900).
"For the head coach, the salary is higher, but everything is reasonable. It's below US$20,000 (RM94,500), but they earn in US dollars," said Hamidin.
Hamidin said FAM is the paymaster. "FAM pays their salary," he said.
Harimau Malaya's coaching staff, include Pan Gon (head coach) and his two assistants, Pau Marti Vicente and E. Elavarasan.
The others are Park Bo bae, Lim Jae hun, Lee Je Yoon, Park Ji Hyeon, and Cho Jun-ho.
FAM's investment in them can be considered worthwhile considering their success in guiding the national squad to the 2023 Asian Cup on merit.
The team are also still in the running to qualify for the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.