Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has voiced his unhappiness over the state government’s decision to adopt 'Kita Lawan' as the motto for its contingent to 2016 Sukma Games in Sarawak.

This is because the motto was adopted from a “political party”, he said.

“I do not want the public to misunderstand or to assume that the Selangor contingent mixes politics with sports,” he said in his speech at the Selangor sports awards ceremony in Subang Jaya tonight.

“I believe it is better for the contingent to find a more spirited and free-from-controversy motto."

Earlier in his speech, he admitted that he seldom attended the state’s previous sports awards ceremonies but wanted to do so today for the development of the state’s sports.

“As such, I would prefer that the sports spirit is not tainted with political or racial elements.

“I urge sports bodies, athletes, and supporters to set aside political ideologies and to not include it in the administration of sports,” the sultan said.

Selangor exco member in charge of sports Amirudin Shari last month had said the National Sports Council (NSC) and Youth and Sports Deputy Minister M Saravanan were being overly sensitive , without a valid reason on the matter.

Both parties had urged Selangor to refrain from using 'Kita Lawan' as its sports team motto because it was political in nature.

Kita Lawan is an umbrella term for a protest movement which has been holding rallies every Saturday in Kuala Lumpur since the jailing of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Feb 10.

Thus far, the movement has transitioned from urging Anwar's freedom to include other objectives such as urging that inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar be sacked and for the abolishment of the goods and services tax (GST).

'In sports, there is only the champion'

Meanwhile, the sultan also lamented the state’s sports standing, where it had placed fourth in the last Sukma games. Apart from the state’s dismal performance, he also expressed unhappiness over Selangor’s failure to even be in the finals of the Malaysia Cup.

“In sports, there is only the champion. There is no number two to be a champion.”

Pointing out how the state government had already provided both indoor and outdoor sports facilities, it is therefore for the sports managers to conduct post mortems to determine the reasons for the failures.

He also commented on the internal problems plaguing the administration of the state’s sports clubs and associations which had led to the decline in sports.

“I want all administration officers, coaches, managers as well as athletes, to multiply their efforts and strategise, and be more committed so that Selangor will achieve victory in all sports events.

The sultan, at the end of his speech, also reminded officials of respective sports associations to not to be at loggerheads with each other or to try to put the other down.