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Master of deception shone among the stars
Published on Saturday 26th April
Monday, April 28, 2014 - 11:32
COMING from an era in the 60s when star football players were plentiful, Ibrahim Mydin may not have gotten the publicity he deserved, but he surely made his mark among players and coaches.
The Penang-born police officer, who retired with the rank of ASP and deputy OCPD of Baling in 1996 after 32 years of service, had a colourful career as a national player from 1962 to 1971.
Ibrahim with his 1962 Asian Games tracksuit.
Nicknamed “ King of Kangkang ” for his uncanny ability to outwit opponents, he was better known as Mydin than Ibrahim. He started playing at a very young age. As a Primary Two pupil, he was already playing for his school team – Datuk Keramat Malay School – where he started as a fullback.
Coming from a poor family, his football skills saw him play with clubs like Ramblers and represented Penang from 1962 to 1965. He later moved to Selangor where his midfield skills and goalscoring were his hallmark.
With Selangor, he won the Malaysia Cup thrice – 1968 (beat Penang 8-1 with S. Thanabalan scoring four goals), 1969 (beat Penang 1-0) and 1971 (replayed final against Perak, winning 3-1 after the first match ended 1-1).
Ibrahim was recommended to the police by Tan Sri P. Alagendra, who was responsible for recruiting many sportsmen and women to the force.
“ It was K. K. Pillai, father-in-law of the late Punch Gunalan, who interviewed me and I was enlisted as a probationary inspector, ” recalled Ibrahim, who turns 70 on Aug 2.
“ I was lucky to have landed the job because of football, ” said Ibrahim, who was a regular in the Merdeka tournament from 1962 to 1971.
“ In the 60s, there were so many talented players and I am glad I had the opportunity to play with the best. We also had good coaches in Choo Seng Quee, Peter Velappan, E.C. Dutton, N. Raju and Harold Hassall to name a few, ” said Ibrahim at his home in Alor Star.
Ibrahim shows his heading skills while
Ibrahim is married to Masitah Jamaluddin and they have three grown-up daughters. Among the players that Ibrahim played with were Stanley Gabriel, Robert and Richard Choe, Ghani Minhat, Dutton, S. Lourdes, Yee Seng Choy, Foo Fook Chuan, Kamaruddin Ahmad, W. Skinner, Majid Ariff, Ali Satar, Hoh Yuen Meng, Quah Kim See, Abdullah Nordin, Lee Kok Seng, M. Karathu, Mahat Ambu, Agus Salim, N. Thanabalan and Ho Voon Hung.
In the late 60s, Ibrahim had for company the likes of M. Chandran, Chow Chee Keong, Soo-Toh-Kim-Poh, Dali Omar, Chow Kwai Lam, Zulikilfi Norbit, Shahruddin Abdullah, Sardar Khan, Namat Abdullah and Wong Choon Wah.
He also had brushes with officialdom where he was known for being vocal about about players’ selection.
“ To me, what mattered was that the best must take the field. While most of the time my views were received well, there were times when I was victimised,” said Ibrahim.
“ There were times when I was left out from the squad and even tournaments. It was one of the reasons why I left the national team early. “ But it did not matter because I was happy with my job.
“ There were also times when I missed national call-ups because of my job. For instance, during the May 13 riots in 1969, I was posted to Campbell station (now Dang Wangi) and missed training.
The bronze medal which Ibrahim
“ Someone started a rumour that I was killed. It was only after they checked with the police that they were told that I was very much alive at the Campbell station, ” said Ibrahim.
He said he could have played longer when national coach Dettmar Crammer requested that he make a comeback in the friendly against Brazil’s Cruzerio FC in 1971. “ Peter (Velappan), who was then FA of Selangor assistant secretary, asked me to meet Dettmar at the University of Malaya field. I made my way to see him but declined to make a comeback.
“ If I had done so, I would have had a chance to make the 1972 Munich Olympics squad. But I have no regrets. I made a choice.
“ I had a good run while it lasted — playing in three Sea Games (1965, 1967 and 1969) and three Asian Games (1962, bronze medal), 1966 and 1970, Merdeka tournaments from 1962 till I retired and regional tournaments like the Jakarta Anniversary Cup, Thailand’s King’s Cup, Korea’s President’s Cup. ”
Asked about a memorable incident during his football career, Ibrahim said: “ Sadly, it is remembered not for happy reasons because I lost teammate Ng Peng Huat in the third Asian Youth Cup in Saigon in 1964, where I captained the team.
“ Coach Peter (Velappan) had given the players a day off and told us to go swimming for relaxation. Peng Huat (also a teammate with Selangor) hurt his head when diving and died.
“ It was sad, but we continued to compete in the tournament and in the third placing match, beat the Koreans 4-1. The Koreans did not want to accept the defeat and said that Peng Huat had helped us win the match. ”
- Malay Mail -
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Post time 19-9-2013 03:04 PM
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