KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 ― The 2017 SEA Games scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur in August is the best platform for the Malaysian football team to grab the mother of all medals in the biennial Games.

But the host status was not an advantage when Malaysia lost 0-1 to Thailand in the 2001 Games.

The disappointment was redeemed when the national team won back-to-back gold medals in the SEA Games in 2009 and 2011. However, the success would have been much sweeter if Malaysia had won the mother of all gold medals on home ground.

For former national striker, Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli who was given the mandate of steering the country's attacking machinery in the 2001 edition, the disappointment still haunts him every time the Games takes place.

"The feeling of disappointment comes every time I see Malaysia playing in the SEA Games because the spirit and confidence of winning the gold medal at that time (2001) was very high, especially after excelling at the group stage and defeating Myanmar 1-0 in the semi-finals,” he said.

The 2017 SEA Games gold medal dream is not impossible even though Malaysia is now ranked 167th in the world compared to the Philippines (126), Thailand (131) and Vietnam (133).

The Kedah-born striker is optimistic that the national squad under Datuk Ong Kim Swee can repeat the nation's success in the 1989 SEA Games which was the last time Malaysia won a gold medal on home soil after beating Singapore 3-1.

"The quality of players in the Malaysian league is very good, but they need to believe in their ability and not be overwhelmed by their opponents,” said the striker who scored five goals for the national team during the 2001 SEA Games.

Meanwhile, national football legend Khalid Ali said Thailand, as the defending champion and 15-time winner of the SEA Games football gold medal, was still the top choice for the event.

Khalid said Malaysia needed to prepare intensively, and that fans should play their role as the 12th player of the squad through their support.

He praised the squad's impressive performance in the three friendly matches in China last month and hoped it could be further improved by KL2017.

"The players have shown marked improvement of late, but they cannot be complacent.  There are still some weaknesses, especially in the defence and midfield that need to be improved within a month,” he said.

Since the beginning of the most prestigious sporting event in Southeast Asia in 1959, Malaysia had won six times in football ― in 1961, 1977, 1979, 1989, 2009 and 2011 ― with two of the victories achieved in Kuala Lumpur in 1977 and 1989. ― Bernama