“We were all kampong boy, for me, getting on the train from Butterworth to KL to play for the national team was itself a pleasure! Like my team-mate Mokhtar Dahari, Santokh Singh, R. Arumugan, we never looked forward to the money, it’s all about the national pride and the recognition from the spectators.
Back then, we had to stitch our boots because we couldn’t afford to buy new boots all the time and when we go to the cobblers for stitching, they would even ask ‘apa ni?’. I remember we once asked for ankle guard, they told us ‘tak cukup duit’. We went through hell lah. Sometimes, you will think that we were some stupid fellas that play football for the country. Nowadays, even training the players get to stay in 5 stars hotel, my goodness! Those days, you know where did we stay? Merdeka Stadium, the dressing room and sleep in a canvas bed!
I coached the national team for 6 years, my team-mate R. Arumugan was allergic to dairy, halfway through the training, he vomited and feeling unwell. I told him to clean himself up and rest, but after 5 minutes, he came back to me and said ‘coach, I am ready’. It’s the dedication lah.
Today, we have a softer and beautiful pitch, we have the equipment and technology but still, the achievement is not there. If you compare the new generation’s contribution to the older fellers, it is lacking. Now, we offer them this and that, of course, the players say yes but where is the achievement? That’s why we feel a bit sore.
If you go to the hospital, you will see, injuries here and there on the veterans and they just sit there and wait. Sometimes when I go for my appointment, I feel very sorry for them. It is like ‘if you are known, you are given a special treatment, if you are not known, you sit there and wait for hours’. Most of us are treated like any other patients, we take the number and wait. Very often, they do not take breakfast because of the urine test, they fast, some of them are in their 60s and 70s, they were the gold medalists, national athletes, and what do they get after all these years?
How many of them get to go for these treatments? How many of them can afford it? We didn’t even receive one 5 cents from the government, even one biscuit tin ‘pun tak ada’. I’m very lucky my children and grandchildren can take care of me.
It is very frustrating that Malaysian veterans are lacked recognition. We are forgotten”.
Datuk M. Kuppan is our former national footballer and coach for our national team. He talks about how the veterans are being forgotten and their contributions to our country are not being recognised.
Photostory by Samantha Siow
Edited by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on September 16th 2018)
