Former Malaysian international Lim Teong Kim, also a former Malaysian national youth coach, says he fears that many footballers in Malaysia will end up as goreng pisang sellers.
Lim, the current Perak coach, was referring to the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) decision to scrap the second tier Malaysian Premier League this season as it plans a revamp.
“The Super League is good but it’s a shame there isn’t a second division,” said the National Football Development Programme director from 2016-2018.
“This stunts the growth of national football because many talent need the time to grow and now, won’t get a chance.
“These players will now play on the division below which is too low, unsuitable and this is not criticism, but a fact.
“It’s a shame because surely many will (end up) selling goreng pisang.”
In July 2022, the FAM announced that the Malaysian Super League will see increase from 12 to 18 teams while the Premier League would be discontinued temporarily.
Malaysia Football League president Ab Ghani Hassan said then that the revamp would offer more game time and more competitive matches for players, and would also raise the commercial value of the domestic league.
Lim is the only Malaysian to have played in the German Bundesliga, having spent a season at Hertha Berlin in 1987.
Singapore football fans will also remember him as the scorer of Malaysia’s second goal in the 3-1 demolition of Singapore in the 1989 Southeast Asian Games final.
MAIN PHOTOS: GOAL, IEATISHOOTIPOST