Coach Dharma Raj offered citizenship by Indonesia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Former National women’s hockey head coach Muhammad Dharma Raj Abdullah who is the Indonesian national hockey team’s technical director since 2021 will soon become an Indonesian citizen if he accepts an offer for citizenship made by the Indonesian government.

The offer for citizenship was to enable Dharma Raj to continue his efforts to develop men’s and women’s hockey in the republic.

Dharma Raj who is currently the Technical Director for the Indonesian national team, is also in charge of the men’s and women’s indoor hockey squads as well as the men’s and women’s field hockey teams said the offer was made by the Indonesian Hockey Federation before the start of the 2023 Cambodia Sea Games.

According to Dharma Raj as he is popularly known, he was studying the offer to become an Indonesian citizen carefully because it would be a major decision that involves relinquishing his status as a Malaysian citizen.

"Giving up Malaysian citizenship is something that must be considered very carefully because if I chose to become an Indonesian citizen, I will have to give up my Malaysian citizenship.

"I have already informed my family about the offer but my wife and children are not in favour of becoming Indonesian citizens. They want to remain as Malaysian citizens because the distance between Malaysia and Indonesia is only a two-hour flight,” the 53-year-old told Bernama, here.

Dharma Raj’s decision to not appeal for an extension of his service when his contract with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) ended in December 2019, was probably because he was not happy with the MHC’s announcement that they would not be extending the contract of all coaches under it except that of the national men’s squad coach Roelant Oltman.

He added that he was overwhelmed by the affection shown by the Indonesian hockey family who welcomed him with open arms after not seeking to renew his contract.

Dharma Raj said he had worked tirelessly to repay the trust that the Indonesian Hockey Federation had placed in him to develop the country’s hockey as well as to forget the bitterness and the kind of treatment that he had undergone during his 10-year tenure with the National squad.

"The West Java provincial team was my first foray into Indonesian hockey and our men’s and women’s indoor hockey teams won the men’s and women’s gold medals in a games that was similar to the Malaysia Games.

"Currently half of the Indonesian team is represented by players from the West Java province. I am not trying to brag but the kind of respect shown by the Indonesian hockey family makes me feel like a king. They do not look for issues with me. I am given a free hand,” he said.

Dharma Raj was appointed as the Technical Director for the Indonesian national team after serving 10 months as the West Java province Technical Director for hockey.

Since his appointment, Indonesia’s performance has improved drastically and Dharma Raj’s presence in Cambodia saw the Indonesian republic’s indoor hockey squad (men) create history by winning the Sea Games gold medal, ironically after beating Malaysia in the final.

After Dharma Raj’s appointment, Indonesia’s men’s and women’s indoor hockey teams that featured in the 2022 Asia Cup had finished in fourth place and runner-up positions respectively while the men’s and women’s field hockey squads will play in the 2023 Asian Games.

Meanwhile, among his notable achievements with the Malaysian team was winning the gold medal at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games and being runners-up in the Second Round of the Women’s Hockey World League (WHWL) and fifth at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games.

He also guided the women’s indoor hockey team to the gold medal in the Philippines SEA Games after coaching the team for just one month. - BERNAMA