Johor Darul Ta'zim boss Tunku Ismail Ibrahim believes that while Faiz Subri should be lauded for his history-making FIFA Puskas award win, he shouldn't be used to cover up the dire, current state of Malaysian football.
"On behalf of JDT, I would like to extend our congratulations to Faiz Subri for winning the Puskas Award. I was the first to sincerely give a contribution as Royal Patron of Professional Footballers Association Malaysia, and congratulate him," said the Johor Crown Prince, also known as TMJ, through the club's Southern Tigers Facebook page.
"This is a good achievement, but we must ask, where does the national football stand in terms of corruption, international standing, and team management in comparisons to team like Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines or Indonesia that are on a constant or rapid incline."
Faiz's goal of 2016 award -- courtesy of his knuckleball free kick against Pahang last February -- has propelled him into an overnight international phenomenon.
The Penang attacker's recognition at Monday night's FIFA Football Awards comes at a pivotal time for Malaysia, who are still smarting from a disastrous 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup in Yangon.
In November, the 2010 champions crashed out of the group stage for only the third time in the history of the tournament.
Datuk Ong Kim Swee, however, has a chance at redemption with the national team - now at 161st on the FIFA rankings -- in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers, which begin in March.
Besides that, the national U23 side, handled by German Frank Bernhardt, are also trying to win football gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, in August.
Selangor, meanwhile, are harbouring hopes of keeping up with JDT after politician Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos put himself in the running for president, to lead the troubled Red Giants.
His predecessor Datuk Seri Azmin Ali quit as president on Dec. 30 after falling out with the club's officials, leaving the team without a leader, going into the 2017 Malaysia Super League season, starting on Jan. 20. "JDT is moving forward, and at least we can compete with them," Jamal told MalaysiaKini.
He also promised to settle the outstanding salaries to the players and officials within 14 days, if appointed.
"I guarantee that after a discussion following my appointment, we will solve this issue within 14 days."
The Selangor players are yet to be paid their salaries for two months, despite making the final of the 2016 Malaysia Cup, won by Kedah on Oct. 30.