MONDAY, Malaysia lost an iconic football hero in Chow Kwai Lam and, rather symbolically, the same evening, Singapore remembered an exemplary Malaysia Cup hero in Majid Ariff.
Both Kwai Lam and Majid were the rarest breed of international-class players selected to play for the elite Asian All-Stars in the 1960s.
Kwai Lam passed on at 11.00am at Ampang Puteri Hospital in Kuala Lumpur and six hours later, at 5.00pm, evening on the Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) Padang, Majid Ariff was memorialised.

Former Singapore stalwarts from yesteryears, from the 1970s and 80s, wore jerseys of Singapore Malays Old Boys (SMOB) and Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) Legends to play a befitting remembrance match.

Present was the family of the late Majid Ariff, led by daughter Watty, who was close to tears when her second son, Ilhan Syafiq Ibrahim, won the ‘Man of the Match’ award.

The late Majid Ariff died of pneumonia, aged 80, on February 4 this year. He was hailed as one of the greatest post-war football heroes and selected for the exclusive Asian All-Stars in 1966.

ICONIC ROLE-MODEL

He was an inspiration to thousands of budding footballers, the most prominent protege being (current Lions coach) Fandi Ahmad.

Significantly, Majid and Fandi were the only Singaporeans among 116 top Asian players nominated for Asia’s ‘Footballer of the Century’ award in 1998.

“We’re honoured that SCC hosted the Padang match with Malays Old Boys (SMOB) to pay tribute to my late dad,” said Watty, who temporarily quit legal work to take care of her ailing dad, prior to his February death.

SMOB President Samsudin Rahmat , a former Malaysia Cup & Sultan’s Gold Cup hero of the 1970s, said the “legendary memories of Majid will forever prevail…as his outstanding football skills are unlikely to be ever matched”.

Majid Ariff made his debut as a 20-year-old for Singapore in 1958 and hit numerous unpredented milestones as a player and coach. He was the only Singaporean to play for the Asian All-Stars team, turning out in exhibition matches against Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday in 1966, and against Leicester City in 1967.

1965 MALAYSIA CUP FINAL

Perhaps the most famous moment I recollect as a schoolboy was in the 1965 Malaya Cup final, where 27-year-old Majid dribbled past three Selangor players to score the equaliser which saw Singapore come back from a goal down to win 3-1. What a symbolic victory for Singapore as it was just eight days before Singapore’s independence in 1965.

The icing on his personal cake came a year later, when Majid spearheaded the Lions to finish fourth in the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games – a 52-year-old feat close to impossible for any Singapore national team to ever emulate.

To Majid Ariff, as I would also say to Chow Kwai Lam: You’ve left us with impossibly unforgettable memories on either sides of the Causeway.

Singapore owes you, Majid, an irreplaceable ‘Hall of Fame’ stature (if FAS ever remembers, even with a crystal ball at hand!) for your divine contributions over more than half-century.
Likewise to 76-year-old Kwai Lam, who won the Malaysia Cup three times with Selangor as a player and six times as a coach (three times each with Selangor and Kuala Lumpur).
Kwai Lam’s most memorable period was when he guided Kuala Lumpur to three Malaysia Cup crowns from 1987-89. an awesome feat unlikely to be repeated.
RIP Majid Ariff 1937-2018. The everlasting magical memories live on. – BY SURESH NAIR
* Suresh Nair is a Singapore-based journalist who covered regional football for over three decades from the late 1970s. He knows Majid Ariff and Chow Kwai Lam personally.
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