The death of a legend

Mokhtar began having throat problems and went to the hospital to find out what the problem was. Doctors diagnosed him as having Motor Neurone Disease (MND). According to his wife, his condition was told only to Mokhtar and his wife. Mohktar went to London with his wife in an attempt to cure his condition.

The press later claimed that Mokhtar was diagnosed with Muscular dystrophy, a rumour that convinced a lot of people.

After 3 years battling the disease, Mokhtar died at Subang Jaya Medical Centre. The press, believing that Mokhtar died of Muscular Dystrophy, reported Mokhtar’s suffering from Muscular Dystrophy and his subsequent death. This caused a confusion about how he died.

His story and the cause of his death was later revealed for the first time in a documentary “The Untold Truth About Supermokh,” on The National Geographic Channel on August 30, 2010, featuring Mokhtar’s friends and family. It was confirmed that Mokhtar died at the age 37 of Motor neurone disease (Later to be revealed by Mokhtar’s wife) at Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) at 8:25 am on 11 July 1991. His body was laid to rest at Taman Keramat Permai Muslim Cemetery, Bukit Permai.




References

http://zonfiniti.blogspot.my/2011/01/biografi-mokhtar-dahari-lagenda-bola.html

http://www.mstar.com.my/artikel/?file=/2009/9/16/mstar_manusia_peristiwa/20090915140942

AN EXCLUSIVE INRTERVIEW WITH SUPERMOKH

Below are an exclusive interview session within The Seladang Editorial Board and “SuperMokh” at his home, on 1982

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“How did you get into V.I.?”.

SuperMokh:

“It’s a rather long story, but I’ll cut it short. You see, I entered V.I. in Form One. It was 1966 then. I stayed there for about four years till 1970. Actually I never expected to go to V.I.”

But since he was active in school sports in his primary days that was probably one of the reasons why he was selected.

As someone who enjoys sporting activities and who has wide interests, SuperMokh was not only in the V.I football team but also in its rugby team besides playing hockey, basketball and swimming for his House.

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“Life must have been fun, being a known figure in school?”

SuperMokh:

“No, not exactly. I wasn’t really known at that time as there were other prominent personalities to compete against, like the school athletes, for example. Were we taken aback! But I got by. Fame never comes easy, as the saying goes.”

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“Then how did you get into the limelight?”

SuperMokh:

“Well, that came only after I left school. It was during a trial play with the Selangor Junior Squad at the Piala Razak Tournament. Later, my manager, Mr M J Vincent, recommmended that I join the senior squad and from then everything started coming my way.”

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“Was it then that you got into the Selangor team?”

SuperMokh:

“Yes it was. It was 1972. I’ll always remember the year as it was during that year I was chosen for the Malaysia A Team after my splendid performance in Jakarta while in the B Team.

The Seladang Editorial Board:

What about your school days? What was the training like?”.

SuperMokh:

“Well, the truth is that I was just an average player. My position was left wing striker. Even now I feel that the training methods of my school days were very raw. There weren’t any qualified coaches at all. But Cikgu Othman Mohd Ali, our school coach, was really something. Though he taught us only from experience, he was very good. We were very disciplined and individual fitness was maintained.  Sometimes we even had centralized training when we had to stay in the school!”

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“But the parents!. Didn’t they ever object to all this?”

SuperMokh:

“Naturally. But they accepted it later on. They let nature take its course.”

SuperMokh told The Seladang Editorial Board more about the V.I. besides sports, football and training. He remembered the prefects well enough to have vivid memories of them.

SuperMokh:

“They were a strict bunch. They even warned me for having my bicycle modified. I was sent to detention class, once or twice, I think, where I had to polish hinges. Well, that was swell enough for me!. My worse experience was when I failed two subjects and the report card given out on the same day that I was supposed to play against R.M.C. in the finals. But a couple of whacks from the Headmaster was enough to put some fire into my playing. We won the match as expected.”

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“What about your most memorable experience? Could it be any better than your worse,” we asked inquisitively.

SuperMokh:

“My most memorable experience was, of course, the solitary goal I helped to score in the 1970 Laxamana Cup against the MCKK. This is one more of the things I’ll always remember.

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“Haven’t you thought of coaching?” we asked.

SuperMokh:

“Coaching? Actually I was asked a few years back to coach the V.I. football team but because of my commitments and job, I’d rather leave it to Mr Rajasingam, who I personally think is very good.”

The Seladang Editorial Board:

“Mokhtar, after all this talk about football and school, what about yourself? Do you mind telling us?”

SuperMokh:

“Of course not! For a start, I’m an Executive Officer at PKNS, I am the Selangor State Football Captain and also the National Football Captain. At times I think these are too much for me but I get by like I used to, thanks to my own strategies and to my wife, Tengku Zarina and her encouragement. There was one time when I was asked to play for some other countries but I turned down the offer. I like listening to sentimental tunes, especially those of Air Supply and The Alley Cats. Lastly I would like to say that I’m proud to be a Victorian and may it be wiser every day.”

References

http://www.viweb.freehosting.net/SuperMokh.htm

Glory boys

Football is not a one-man sport. It requires the whole team to achieve victory. Such as Mokhtar, he was assisted by his teammates in achieving his goal as a great and outstanding football player. Here's several person that are widely recognized by people,

R.Arumugam

Datuk R. Arumugam (also known as Spiderman) was a legendary Malaysian national football goalkeeper Selangor. His exceptionally long arms and brilliant saves have earned him the nickname "Spiderman". He was born on January 31, 1953 in Port Klang, Selangor.

Soh Chin Aun (Right)

Soh Chin Aun (born July 28, 1950) was a Malaysian national defender and captain from Malacca. He was born on July 28, 1950 in Malacca. He was known as Tauke or Towkay by his team mate and fans. Although not recognised internationally, he was claimed to have had 252 international appearance for his country, making him the most capped international player in the world.

Santokh Singh (Left)

A member of the golden generation, Santokh was an uncompromising defender with a subtle touch who served the national team for 12 years ever since his debut in the Jakarta Anniversary tournament in 1973.

Isa Bakar (Left)

His game was not based on strength and power as Isa Bakar combined deadly pace with a knack of knowing where the ball would end up that made him a feared goal-scorer.

References

http://thesportsmuseum.blogspot.my/2010/08/jom-kenali-legend-r-arumugam.html


http://my-footballer.blogspot.my/2008/07/soh-chin-aun.html


http://duniabolasepak.blogspot.my/2014/05/malaysia-pemain-pertahanan.html

http://www.carigold.com/portal/forums/showthread.php?t=406792

Part time footballer ?

Footballer nowadays are paid with a hefty sums of money. Most of them live in a luxury, drive sports cars, get a lot of publicity even out of the field. The standard now is for footballers to be showered with bonuses and monthly salaries. Back then when Mokhtar was picked for the Selangor senior team, Mokhtar Dahari and his teammates were part time footballers. Living in a normal life, Mokhtar was simply a bank clerk who had to answer to his superiors and deal with difficult customers like everyone else. Mokhtar and his teammates would receive small sums of money in the form of training and match allowances, as well win bonuses, but nothing in a way of long-term profitable contracts that are so common in modern-day football. He lived a modest life, commuting from his office to the training ground every evening with a motorcycle. 

Mokhtar Dahari (middle), liifting the trophy in his home state team's jersey, Selangor

It was stolen once, he was so distressed that he rather thoughtlessly quit football. Luckily, the involvement of a motorcycle manufacturing company, which provided him with a new motorcycle, reversed the young star's decision and he soon turned up for training again on his shiny new motorcycle. In return of the generous act of the company, in 1972 he would end up scoring 9 goals in the prestigious Malaysia Cup for his home state team (Selangor), and 10 goals for the national team, a remarkable achievement for such a part time footballer.

References

https://books.google.com.my/books?id=5rLAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=pekerjaan+mokhtar+dahari&source=bl&ots=tj0hL6kqli&sig=kKhgSMbHcUU2-vueIqvktNvY4Po&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pekerjaan%20mokhtar%20dahari&f=false

http://fayizmd.blogspot.my/p/pencapaian-dan-anugerah.html

Google pays tribute to Malaysian legend, Mokhtar Dahari

In celebration of what would have been the 61st birthday of Mokhtar Dahari, Google is paying homage to the Malaysian football legend with a doodle.

The doodle, featured on the Malaysia-specific edition of the search engine, portrays Mokhtar, known fondly as SuperMokh, in his number 10 jersey with his arms outstretched on a massive banner in a stadium.

The illustration of the doodle depicted a huge banner in the stadium that features Mokhtar in his national football team jersey and the iconic jersey number 10. I don't know for sure but i do wonder if this doodle was inspired by this particular banner that Ultras Malaya supporters group used during AFF Suzuki Cup 2012.

Nevertheless, it is a fitting tribute to the legend who many considered as the one of the greatest Malaysian footballer to ever live.

References

http://mohdnorzali.com/2014/11/13/mokhtar-dahari-lagenda-bola-sepak-malaysia/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaH7qR3aZZ0

Golden Era

As we know Mokhtar Dahari was an outstanding football player. His passion and his ability to score goals is the reason why he is irreplaceable in the heart of the football fans until today. What makes him special is he never disappoint his fans even when  the Malaysian football team lost. He was the man of every match he played. 

In those years, Malaysian football was at its best and players like Mokhtar made the game an interesting watch. His mobility and speed, flexibility and the ability to unleash sudden powerful shots with both his feet mesmerized the audience. The crowd would gather at the Merdeka Stadium to watch this spectacular "Number 10" and it was not uncommon to hear the crowd's chants of "Super Mokh" during any match.

Mokhtar and Diego Maradona, the Argentinian football legend once confront each other at Stadium Merdeka in a friendly match between Selangor and Boca Juniors on 1982, four years before Argentina won the World Cup in Mexico.

Mokhtar Dahari (right) was changing souvenir with Diego Maradona (Left) atStadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

On May 1975, it's Mokhtar against Arsenal. He as well his team dominated the international football club, Arsenal on that day. Yes! We've beaten Arsenal once! The two times champion 1970/71 Arsenal, got the touch of Bertie Mie, Peter Storey, John Radford, Sammy Nelson, George Armstrong, Peter Simpson and more while Malaysia XI, coached by M. Chandran, had the late Mokhtar, Soh Chin Aun, R Arumugam, Santokh Singh, Isa Bakar etc. in the first eleven of the team.

Three minutes before halftime, 'Supermokh' chased Soh Aun's lob, outsprinted bald defender Terry Mancini before sending a thunderous left-foot shot into goal. If we watch carefully, the second goal was a result of a three-man move - R. Arumugam's long goal kick was cheated down by Isa Bakar and Mokhtar played a quick one two with Isa for a well-taken goal.


Here's a video of his performance during those days.

Mokhtar retired in 1986 after winning the Malaysia Cup for Selangor FA. He gave his number 10 jersey to the then Raja Muda Selangor. Mokhtar was awarded “Best Player” in the 1986 Merdeka Cup. Like a resounding encore, Mokhtar came out of retirement in 1987 to play one more season for Selangor FA. A year later, he joined Kwong Yik Bank and won the Selangor League.

References

http://arsenal4u.com/2012/07/info-sejarah-pertemuan-arsenal-vs-malaysia/

http://chedinsphere.blogspot.my/2012/12/boca-juniors-lawan-jemputan-selangor-xi.html

Greatest son of Selangor

Assalamualaikum and Hi!

For the first entry, I will be telling a story of perhaps the greatest son of Selangor. He was not a politician, nor was he a pop star. He was a footballer. Although footballers nowadays, even Malaysian ones, receive constant adoration and are paid hefty sums of money, he was a footballer at a time when footballers had to keep a day job just to live comfortably. But that was enough for him. Whereas politicians constantly divide the people’s loyalty and pop singers demand fans’ adoration for their own selves, he only united his fans under two flags; those of his birth state Selangor and his country, Malaysia.

Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari 

Mokhtar bin Dahari was born on 13 November 1953 in Setapak, Selangor, and from an early age he showed his aptitude for sports. He would play various sports with his neighbourhood friends such as badminton, but in the end he would gravitate towards the beautiful game; football. Attending the prestigious secondary school Victoria Institution also brought him closer to playing football at a higher level, and spurred on his obsession for football.  At the age of 18 he would play for the Selangor youth team in the Burnley Youth Cup that was held in Sarawak.

References

http://www.bicaradariaku.com/2013/11/perjalanan-hidup-dan-biodata-mokhtar.html