COMMENT | Good afternoon. First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the U-22 national squad for their two victories in the Group A stages of the 2017 SEA Games.

I would also like to remind the players not to give too much thought about what is being said by the media or on the social media. You should be focused and maintain utmost concentration for every match in the competition.

Remember also that only a handful of Malaysians are privileged enough to wear the national colours and you should be rightfully proud as it is the highest honour for every Malaysian to be selected and wear the national jersey.

There's no need to entertain those who criticise you as it is you who are representing and sacrificing for the country. Regardless of the result, be it win or lose, I will deal with the consequences and deal with them.

I'm prepared to take full responsibility, whatever the result may be, and remember that the country and your families will continue to be proud and are thankful for your service to this country that we all love.

Second is in regard to those who have raised the issue of my absence from the stadium to give my support to the 2017 SEA Games squad. You may have conveniently forgotten about my contributions to the FAM in the time when the FAM, league, and participating teams did not have funds.

I'm not one to bring up the past, but this is a fact. Recently as well, the Sultan of Johor also contributed RM4 million to the FAM to help with the structuring of the national squad and the local leagues. Incentives for the U-22 national squad were also given when they qualified for the final round of the U-23 Championship AFC 2018 in China.

Adding to this, I've also met up with Astro to finalise the sponsorship for all participating teams in the Malaysian League.

My fellow Malays, although you may feel the need to discredit someone, there's no need to compare me to individuals who only show up at stadiums but choose to not give a single cent to help football in this country.

There's no need to make an appearance at the stadium for your own political mileage. Where was this individual and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) when FAM was desperate and needed financial aid? I'm not blaming KBS for not giving any funds to FAM. After all, the issue of the infamous RM100 million has not been resolved, how can they contribute to us?...