The Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Dato' Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican has expressed his support for the continuation of the 2020 Malaysia Cup, in his response to a question posed in the parliament on Wednesday, November 11.
This year's competition had been unilaterally postponed by the National Security Council (MKN) on Monday despite having just kicked off the weekend prior with the round of 16, a decision that disappointed many who are involved in the country's professional football.
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In answering Bachok member of parliament Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz's question, Reezal stated that he wants the matches to be played out.
"The Malaysia Cup had been suspended despite there being only seven matches remaining. As the Youth and Sports Minister, it is my hope that these matches can be played in green states (states that are not currently under Covid-19 lockdown).
"We take into account MKN's consideration for public safety and the green states' willingness to host the matches. But God willing, the ministry will continue appealing [for the competition's continuation] when the number of cases drop, to ensure that football remains the country's number one sport," explained the Kepala Batas member of parliament.
This year's Malaysia Cup had been truncated into a single-legged straight knockout competition which started from the round of 16 stage due to the pandemic. The first round saw JDT, Pulau Pinang, Kuala Lumpur, UiTM FC, Terengganu FC, Kedah, Selangor and Perak going through to the final eight.
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