Source:REUTERS/LISA LEUTNER
[Saba Sports News] It is not new for Malaysian badminton coaches to leave the Badminton Association of Malaysia, as many have achieved remarkable success while coaching abroad. Datuk James Selvaraj, former director of the Badminton Association of Malaysia, stated that the significant salary gap between local and foreign coaches is a major reason behind this trend. Selvaraj believes that because our local coaches are excellent, other countries offer such good treatment to attract them. Although the Badminton Association of Malaysia has never disclosed the exact salary of local coaches, it is known that Indonesian coach Hendrawan earned nearly 50,000 ringgit per month during his tenure, while local coaches earn less than half of that. With the resignation of Malaysia’s men’s doubles head coach Tan Bin Shen, who moved to coach the Hong Kong national team, this issue has resurfaced. According to previous reports, the Hong Kong badminton team offered Tan a salary of 70,000 ringgit. After Tan, another men’s doubles coach, Foo Kok Keong, also chose to leave after his contract ended, meaning there is now only one Indonesian coach left in the Malaysian national team’s men’s doubles coaching staff. The Badminton Association of Malaysia will next decide whether to hire local or foreign coaches, but addressing the salary gap is key to retaining local talent.