Moklas Ma'arof, the secretary of National Football League (NFL) Division 2 club Kembangan United, wants to clear the air over his withdrawal from the upcoming Football Association of Singapore (FAS) election but the Game Changers remain unconvinced.
In a statement, Moklas, 62, said yesterday: "I was approached by some friends from football clubs to stand as an individual candidate in the election. I thought it was not a bad idea and completed the nomination forms and passed it to my friends for submission.
"When I read the newspapers the next day (March 26), I was shocked to see that my name was included in the group of six individual candidates aligned to the Game Changers. This was never my intention as I only want to be just an individual candidate.
"As such, on March 28, I decided to withdraw my nomination and accordingly sent the FAS a letter to confirm my withdrawal as a candidate for the election."
His withdrawal was revealed on Tuesday, the same day it was learnt that four individual candidates, of which three are aligned to the Game Changers team, did not pass the FAS electoral committee's eligibility and integrity checks.
Former Fifa referee Lai Boon Teck, former journalist and referee instructor Suresh Nair, Hougang United treasurer Jeffrey Sim, and businessman Kumar Appavoo are those who failed the check.
All four have since appealed their cases to the electoral committee. The final list of approved candidates will be sent to all FAS members at least 10 days before the April 29 election.
Then, Steven Tan, secretary and spokesman for the Game Changers, said of Moklas' withdrawal: "It's a personal decision and we have to respect that. We believe in democracy.
"The team fully supported him when he wanted to stand as an individual council member and we still stand by him now.
"Moklas is a gentleman and he does not wish to trouble his friends with some problems that he is facing in his own club."
But Moklas, a draughtsman at a structure and civil engineering firm, countered: "I wish to categorically state that neither I or my club are facing any problems.
"The club is running smoothly and we are busy preparing for the coming 2017 season."
This claim was rebutted last night by Tan, who told The Straits Times: "As far as we are concerned, there is no confusion. We still stand by what we had said, and we will refrain from further comment."
