BAM ready to make players' contracts transparent [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: BAM wants to be more transparent — and this includes revealing the contract details of its top players and disclosing the annual expenses spent on the national teams and coaches.

This will be among the significant changes that BAM plan to make at a council meeting tomorrow.

"I want to be transparent so that people know, although it will put pressure on the players. But, anywhere else in the world, you disclose it (contract details)," said BAM president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said during his visit to the Malaysia Open media centre at the Axiata Arena today.

"At the council meeting, I will show how much we actually invest per player. Because, besides their salaries and bonuses, there's the costs of the coaches, the costs of the tournament, and so on.

"Because you don't know how much they (players) get. Going forward, we want to be open. So, if there are any contract issues, we will tell you how much they get, how much each player costs.

"This is something the sponsors should also know. It's better."

BAM was embroiled in a contract dispute with women's doubles world No. 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, who delayed signing their deal, after it expired in December 2024

Zafrul said that almost all players, including men's doubles world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 5 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, and mixed doubles world No. 4 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, have signed their contracts with BAM until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Zafrul added that he is in line with the idea that a bigger portion of the funding received by BAM should be channelled into development.

"One of our main sponsors also said they would rather put more money into development, not just focusing on elite players. I will raise this at the council meeting," added Zafrul.

"Tomorrow, we'll calculate the percentage for development and for the elite players and we'll present it."