The Badminton Association of MalaysiaorBAM (Malay: Persatuan Badminton Malaysia) is the governing body of badminton in Malaysia. The association was founded in 1964. Nevertheless, the history of Malaysian badminton starts much earlier. Already in 1934 an association was founded by the provinces Perak, Penang, Selangor, Johore and Singapore.
BAM is registered with the sports commissioner's office under the Sports Development Act 1997 of the laws of Malaysia. The association was founded in 1964 and has 15 states as their members.[3]
Badminton Association of Malaysia, as the national association, is the sole authority to register Malaysian players into Badminton World Federation-sanctioned tournaments, of which made up majority of the international badminton tournaments.[4] On several occasions, BAM had refused to register players who have had left their fold.[citation needed]
In 2011, Tan Chun Seang was banned from Asian tournaments for two years after walking out from the national team.[5][6] In 2019, Toh Ee Wei left BAM after a fallout with the association, and was barred from international tournaments as an independent player.[7] Toh had since returned to BAM in 2020.[8]
In September 2021, Goh Jin Wei resigned from the national team, citing health issues and explained that she "could never be able to fulfil the requirements and conditions of the national team".[9] Goh instead signed as an independent player with Kuala Lumpur Racquet Club on 6 January 2022.[10] On 19 January 2022, Lee Zii Jia decided to quit the team as he felt that he couldn't withstand the pressure to be on the national team.[4][11] In response, BAM sanctioned both Lee and Goh by banning both players for participating in any international events for 2 years.[12] BAM deputy president Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos said that the decision was made "to safeguard BAM's integrity as a national institution and custodian of the sport's national interest".[13] The decision has caused anger among national and international fans, denouncing BAM decision.[14] Danish badminton player and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen condemn the sanctions as "crazy" and expressed solidarity with Lee and Goh.[15] The same condemnation also expressed by other international badminton players like Anders Antonsen, Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, and Gronya Somerville.[16][17] Supporters of the decision argued that Lee's premature exit from the national team may trigger other players to do same, and potentially losing sponsorship income for BAM.[18] After a meeting between BAM and Lee on 25 January 2022, an agreement was reached with the ban to be lifted with terms yet to be disclosed.[19]
