SINGAPORE - After a week of silence over his involvement in the football saga that has rocked Singapore sports, former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin has finally spoken out.
Responding exclusively to TODAY’s queries on links between him and Tiong Bahru FC (TBFC) owner Bill Ng over the TBFC chairmanship, and other commercial matters, the former Member of Parliament clarified on Saturday (Apr 22) that he and businessman Ng “are not business partners and we do not have any business dealings.”
In TBFC documents seen by TODAY, it was minuted that Mr Ng had endorsed Mr Zainudin last June as the next TBFC chairman, and that Mr Zainudin was eventually voted in the post.
In other documents seen by TODAY, Mr Zainudin was also listed as a director on the website of private equity firm ESW Manage, which is a sponsor of Hougang United. ESW also described Zainudin as "the current president of the Football Association of Singapore".
ESW was also previously listed as a company under the portfolio of Financial Frontiers, a private equity firm founded by Mr Ng.
ESW has since removed Zainudin from its list of directors on its website. It is also no longer listed as part of Financial Frontiers' portfolio on the latter's website.
In his reply to TODAY, Zainudin, a deputy principal (development) at the Institute of Technical Education College East, said: “I was appointed as advisor to ESW Manage in January 2017.
"My role is to advise ESW on their CSR work. This appointment was after my stepping down as President of FAS (in November 2016).
“I turned down the offer to be chairman of TBFC. Mr Bill Ng and I are not business partners and we do not have any business dealings.”
In response to TODAY’s queries, an ESW spokesperson said on Friday night: “At no time was Mr Zainudin Nordin appointed to the Board of Directors of ESW.
“In any event, Mr Zainudin's involvement with ESW ( in an advisory role) only took effect several months after his tenure as FAS President ended.
"That being so, there is no basis whatsoever for your assertion of a conflict of interest.”
Mr Zainudin also confirmed that he is assisting the authorities with their investigations.
The 53-year-old added: “I had all this while hoped that the election will proceed smoothly and fairly, and thus chose not to make any statements.
“As things had turned out, I am now giving the authorities all the help for their investigations and I will do everything to help put this behind us. My wish is for Singapore soccer to do well which has been my passion and devotion all these years.”
Mr Zainudin’s comments come two days after a dramatic police raid on the FAS, and the clubhouses of three football clubs - Hougang United, TBFC, and Woodlands Wellington FC (WWFC). The three clubs are linked to Mr Ng, who is the chairman of Hougang.
The raids were prompted by Sport Singapore (SportSG) filing a police report on Wednesday against TBFC for suspected misuse of club funds, as well as a purported attempt by a senior official - understood to be Mr Ng - to obstruct the completing of audits of the S.League’s sit-out clubs.
On Friday, Mr Ng’s lawyer Shashi Nathan confirmed that the 57-year-old businessman was assisting the Commercial Affairs Department with their inquiries.
Media reports also said that Zainudin, FAS general secretary Winston Lee and Ng’s wife were also questioned by the police.
The ongoing saga that got Singaporeans talking began two Thursdays ago (April 13), when Mr Ng, who is leading Team Game Changers in the inaugural FAS elections on Apr 29, revealed that he had donated S$500,000 to the FAS.
The money from his club, National Football League (NFL) Division 1 side TBFC, was made out to the Asean Football Federation’s (AFF) Football Management System.
The revelation by Mr Ng escalated into a public spate between the businessman and Mr Lee, with Mr Ng insisting that it was Mr Lee who had asked for the donation, and that he was always under the impression it would be use for local football.
Mr Lee, however, presented documents to prove that Mr Zainudin had approached Mr Ng for the S$500,000 donation, and that he was aware of what it would be used for.
Despite the headline-grabbing scandal hitting local football, the landmark FAS elections remains on track for Apr 29, where 44 FAS affiliate will vote for the sport’s top leaders. Mr Ng’s Game Changers will face off against Team LKT led by former FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong.
Source from Today Online
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