Nurhayati Karim ousted as Selangor Athletics president

Nurhayati Karim has relinquished her position as president of the Selangor Athletics Association (SAA), losing the election by a narrow margin of 15 votes to her challenger Ganesh Marathamutu. The two are connected through their family ties, as Ganesh is the son of former SAA president SM Muthu, who was removed from office in 2021.

This leadership instability within the state body has been a recurring issue. At the annual general meeting, where the election took place, Nurhayati's team was defeated in almost every contest, with Ong Kian Ming being the only exception, who won the deputy presidency unopposed. Andre Subbas and Arunasalam Mookan Pillai secured the positions of vice-presidents.

Yagnish Nadarajah was elected as the new secretary, while Manimaran Sukumaran was appointed treasurer. It is worth noting that SAA comprises nine district associations, each with three votes; however, Hulu Langat decided to abstain from participating in the election. Currently, Nurhayati serves as the secretary-general of Malaysia Athletics (MA) and is the daughter of Karim Ibrahim, who is currently on a leave of absence from his role as national body president.

The sports commissioner is yet to determine her status. Karim first assumed the presidency of SAA in December 2021; however, her association's registration was revoked in April 2022 due to concerns regarding Muthu's alleged misappropriation of RM110,000 from the fixed deposit account. Muthu denied these allegations and claimed he remained the rightful president.

In 2024, Nurhayati returned to the presidency of SAA, this time winning unopposed. The state body's internal problems persisted last year, with six officials, including Muthu, K Pregash, R Murugan, G Mohan, Mohd Fauzi Nanivanan Abdullah, and S Gunaseelan, receiving lifetime suspensions after voicing a vote of no confidence in Nurhayati's leadership.