Green Light For MAAU To Hold Marathon

The Sports Commissioner's Office has issued a licence to the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU)to organise the inaugural Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009.

Sports Commsioner Datuk Nik Mahmud Nik Yusuf said the licence was issued on Friday.

"The MAAU and the Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Union (FTAAU) have resolved the dispute on the organising," he told Bernama here today, adding that with the resolution there was no reason to not give permission for the marathon to be held on June 28.

The dispute started when the FTAAU, which is also an affiliate of the MAAU, claimed that the KL International Marathon (KLIM) was the brainchild of the FTAAU since it was introduced in 1984 and the hosting of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon by the national parent body was akin to robbing its right.

MAAU at a meeting chaired by its president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim with FTAAU on last Tuesday succeeded in finding a solution.Shahidan had said the MAAU would act as the organisers of the championship while the FTAAU would collaborate in terms of giving technical assistance.

MAAU, as the umbrella body for national athletics, hopes the championship that has cash prize money of RM300,000 would attract 12,000 participants from within and outside the country.

-- BERNAMA