Niki Cheong

Malaysia’s football twins

Oct 7, 2008 Rantings

Have you ever heard of Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak and Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak? Both are 21 years old, both play for Negri Sembilan and both have made it to the Malaysian national football team.

Both are also twins.

Caught your attention? I thought it might.

I have not followed Malaysian football in a very long time. As a kid, dad and his friends would bring us to watch games (my sister and I, both born in Selangor, supported our “state” team) at Stadium Merdeka. Over the years, we slowly lost interest - and from the looks of it, so did the rest of our country.

Okay, so maybe the team hasn’t been doing very well (I’m being nice, btw) and who wants to support a team that constantly loses (well, some people, but not many).

Still, it’s our national team and surely, we should take some pride in it (we don’t have to watch the games or anything if we’re not interested, but surely no need to kutuk like mad). And it is here that I think the twins can help (if the Associations and football people are smart enough).

The fact is, everybody loves icons. That’s why the younger generation loves Hollywood so much. But not just that, sports icons have traditionally been choice icons. From Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan, Eric Cantona to David Beckham, Lance Armstrong, Michael Schumacher - and yes, even our Nicol David (sorry, Dato’) - the icons exist to motivate us and help us, if nothing else, dream of becoming as successful as them some day.

The icons have great influence as well - which is why the Lance Armstrong Foundation is doing so well, why HIV became such a hot topic in sports when Magic Johnson was diagnosed and why Britain uses Rio Ferdinand to speak out against racism in sports and David Beckham is called on to talk against violent crimes among youths.

Here we have a great package - the brothers are talented, have good looks and the ultimate novelty factor - there are two of them. Nike obviously saw the potential - the brothers were the Malaysian representatives for the Nike Football campaign a couple of years ago (that’s when the image above was taken) along with other footballers from the region. It was also when I first heard of them. 

Which is why I think it is great that the FA of Malaysia is supporting their decision to play in the Slovakia Professional League next year, as reported in today’s NST. Sure, it’s not the English Football League but at least efforts are being put in to help them improve.

And if the local system is indeed to be blamed for the weak squads we have been producing for years now, then maybe they do need to go elsewhere to better themselves. Plus, hopefully it will bring some attention to the sport.

After all, kids in Malaysia still do grow up playing sports. It’s only when they leave school, and realise that there are so little opportunities for them, that they give it up. Football has for a long time been the game of choice for many people - it doesn’t require a lot of money, all they need is one ball for a whole load of friends and an empty space.

Zafuan and Zaquan can be the ultimate ambassadors for Malaysian football. I hope that they realise what role they can play, and the authorities will maximise (appropriately, of course) this opportunity.

1.47pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)

Tags: Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak