About Us - A Short History of MAAU

The earliest recorded athletic organization anywhere in the country was in Ipoh where in 1906, the Athletic Association was formed. One peculiarity of athletic competition in this early period between 1906 and 1913 was that they were sponsored by the numerous European Clubs in the Federated Malay States and were consequently dominated exclusively by Europeans. These early athletic championships under the title “Ipoh Athletic Sports” were a regular sporting event in Perak, and since they were the only Meets of their kind, the holders of the Challenge Cups were considered the Champions of Malaya.Between 1914 and 1919 these athletic activities were suspended as a result of the First World War.

In 1920 during its meeting in Kuala Lumpur a decision was made for the introduction of the Inter-State Championships. The meeting also decided to open the competitions to all genuine amateur athletes resident in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States , irrespective of nationality, thereby allowing for more competitions from 1920 onwards to assume more and more a Malayan character. These Inter-State Championships were organized by the then Amateur Athletic Association of British Malaya .

1931 saw a further change of name of Association when it became to be known as the Amateur Athletic Association of Malaya, and in keeping with the greater participation of athletes from the Federated Malay States , the Championships altered its name to the Championships of Malaya. Athletic activities came to a standstill once again during the period of the Second World War – between 1940 and 1948.

The 1949 Championships saw the emergence of new talent as well as some pre-war names attempting to make a comeback. From then on the championships moved throughout the length and breadth of the country to other big centers such as Singapore (1950), Ipoh (1952, 55) and Penang where in 1956, the Golden Jubilee Year for athletics in the country, was celebrated with great success. The post-war period also saw another “face lift” for the for the Association when in 1952 in compliance with the International Sporting Regulation it was dissolved and a new body called the Federation of Malaya Amateur Athletic Union (F.M.A.A.U) came in to being. The Union was this recognized as an International Body and was affiliated to the Olympic Council. At the same time, the Singapore Branch detached itself to become a separate entity. Under the new organization, the first National Championships was held at Seremban in 1960 where a set of national records was established. In October the same year, the first Open Championships was held in Penang and subsequently in Malacca in 1961 and Perak in 1962. Response from abroad was tremendous, with participants coming from Singapore , Brunei , Sarawak, and the then North Borneo, Ceylon, Philippines , Thailand , Indonesia , Pakistan and Australia .

The Union was active as a body dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sports in general. In 1954, FMAAU got special clearance from the World Olympic Body and IAAF to participate at the Second Asian Games in Manila . Thus, before the formation of the Olympic Council of Malaya, FMAAU was recognized as the official member from Malaysia . Together with the Malayan Hockey Federation the Union felt that there was a need for a national body to organize and co-ordinate work between the various sports organizations in the country for purpose of international competitions. Consequently, the FMAAU became co-sponsor with the Hockey Federation for the formation of the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council.

With the formation of Malaysia , the FMAAU was dissolved to make way for a new organization called the Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union (M.A.A.U) with Datuk Mohammad Ghazali bin Shafie as its first President.

The first Championships under the aegis of the new Union was held in Seremban in 1964 inwhich all the Malaysian States participated. From then on the MAAU grew from strength to strength, ushering in vast improvements both in facilities and standards of performances, all of which contributed in no small measure to the prominence of Malaysia in the athletic world, in Asia .

Since then the only change in the Union was the disassociation of the Singapore AAA following the separation of the Republic from Malaysia .

Much has taken place since then. The last few years opened a new era of communication between officials and the administration. The future looks quire hopeful and we do look forward to a new surge of talent in athletics in Malaysia .