KUALA LUMPUR — National footballer Dominic Tan has hit back at the Singaporean press by defending the current state of the Malaysian Football League.
The 27-year-old centre-back, who plays for Sabah FC, was responding to a question from Singaporean reporters about how Harimau Malaya players stay focused and motivated while preparing for national duties, despite the ongoing salary issues plaguing the M-League.
It has been reported that Sri Pahang FC, Perak FC, Sabah, and Kedah FC have been struggling with salary arrears since the start of the Super League campaign.
There have also been incidents where several players from Sri Pahang reacted on social media, criticising their employers.
Most recently, some first-team players from Kedah went on strike, refusing to attend training sessions after the management failed to pay off salaries that had been overdue for almost six months.
Dominic, who has made 35 appearances for Harimau Malaya, said that national team footballers have never allowed the financial issues to affect their mentality whenever they wear the iconic black and yellow jersey.
“We are professionals, and we have never allowed any of these issues to affect our mentality. Our job is to play football, and whenever we don the national jersey, we forget about our allegiance to our clubs.
“People need to understand that issues like this don’t only happen in Malaysia, but also in other countries around the region. So there’s no use making a big fuss about it.
“We have never felt demotivated. My teammates and I are always proud to play for the country whenever we receive a call-up,” Dominic said in a pre-match conference at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium earlier today.
For the record, several other leagues in neighboring countries, such as Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines, are also grappling with financial difficulties—a trend that has also affected the Singaporean league.
Despite Singapore being the wealthiest nation in the region and one of the richest in the world, its football league has fallen from grace due to the high wages demanded by imported players, leaving clubs struggling to meet salary obligations.
This financial strain has led several clubs to withdraw from the S-League, which once featured 12 to 13 teams since its inception in 1996, but now only has nine participating clubs.
Singaporean media recently reported that Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Bernard Tan proposed inviting local and foreign clubs to fill slots for the 2025/2026 S-League season.
Meanwhile, Dominic, born in Singapore and raised there before moving to Malaysia in 2014, added that he would not show any sympathy towards his country of birth when captaining Harimau Malaya in tomorrow’s Asean Cup Group A clash.
“I do love the country (Singapore), and I have a lot of friends there. But this is football, and I have to give my 100% for Malaysia when we play tomorrow, without any sympathy.
“Tomorrow is a must-win match for us if we hope to keep our semifinal hopes alive,” Dominic added.
According to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), a total of 10,210 match tickets have been sold so far for the Causeway Derby. – December 19, 2024
