TANJUNG MALIM, April 7 ― It is not fair to point fingers at the state government on the issue of Perak FC's failure to pay the salaries of players, believed to be two months in arrears, said Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad.
He said the state government had paid RM4 million in arrears of salaries to Perak FC players, thus dismissing allegations by Perak football fans that the state government was not concerned about the problems faced by the team.
“We have already helped (make payments) about RM4 million. I previously helped with RM2.5 million for two months in arrears, and recently another RM1.5 million. It is not fair to say the state government did not help them at all.
“It is also not fair to place this responsibility 100 percent on the state government. I can’t look after the sport of football alone. I also have to look into hockey, volleyball, netball, all the sports,” he said when met by reporters at his “Mentri Besar Bersama Rakyat (MESRA)” programme in the Tanjung Malim parliamentary constituency, here today.
He was commenting on this hot issue that is being discussed at the moment involving the Perak FC Super League team, which is rumoured not to have paid the players' salaries for two months.
Perak FC are facing a myriad of issues at the very beginning of the 2021 season, including ending their contract with previous handler Mehmet Durakovic due to disagreements with the coach who helped the squad win the 2018 Malaysia Cup.
Saarani further explained that Perak FC are under the Perak Football Association (PAFA) and not under the state government entirely to fund salaries and so on, and thus asked football fans to calm down while the state government is trying to resolve the issue.
According to him, the state government has also persuaded several government-linked companies (GLCs) to pay the arrears even though it is not his responsibility.
Meantime, Saarani said the state government should not only focus on one type of sport alone, especially in terms of allocation assistance involving high costs.
“If football needs RM2 million a month, you cannot put this on the state government to bear. This is not fair.
“Because, it is the people's money, not the Football Association's money or from ticket collection. I need to return this tax money to the people,” he said. ― Bernama
