Ma's sporting aims

ANDREW Ma Tse-chiu's appointment as the Sports Development Board's new chief executive marks the end of expatriate, some might say colonial, rule within the hierarchy of Hong Kong's governing body for sports funding and policy. But the 55-year-old Stanford-educated Chinese draws his inspiration from the very sport that symbolises British colonialism and is dominated by expatriates in Hong Kong: cricket. Mr Ma was an active cricketer in Hong Kong and the United States during the 60s, taking up the sport as a student at Diocesan Boys School and representing Craigengower Cricket Club alongside notable players such as Carl Myatt, former sports editor of the South China Morning Post, and John Hung, current Wharf boss and financial force behind the annual Hong Kong International Sixes. Mr Ma's cricketing adventures would have even the most imaginative cricket writers struggling to gain a foothold on reality. Here was a Chinese, born and raised in Hong Kong, captaining Stanford University in a quaint English sport that is in total contrast to the razzmatazz traditions of Ivy League Americans brought up on a diet of American football, basketball and baseball. But for Mr Ma, the intricacies of cricket, described by one North American journalist as 'baseball on valium', would form the basic principles by which he would pursue a highly successful career in the trade industry. With the leadership skills honed on the cricket field, backed by a sound educational background at two of the United States' elite universities, Mr Ma spent 25 years with the Trade Development Council. He then moved on to Landor, a company specialising in improving the image of major corporations, including many leading airlines. In 1992, he became the Hong Kong head of auctioneers, Sotheby's, before being head-hunted for the sports board job. 'I learned a lot from cricket,' said Mr Ma, who also captained the University of California and represented California against Canada. 'I opened the bowling for Stanford and would describe myself as a useful middle-order batsman. 'But my forte was really my fielding. I used to pride myself on it. I was quite quick around the field and was able to throw the ball to the stumps quite well. 'The way I played cricket is the way I try to apply myself to work. When fielding, every time the ball is hit by the batsman, I hope the ball comes to me. 'This way I am always anticipating it. In a similar way, I'm always trying to anticipate in business,' Mr Ma said. 'Think about it. Cricket is like no other sport. 'It is the only game I know where a side can declare themselves to be out when they are still in. 'You can score 600 runs with several batsmen still to bat, but to make a game of it, you can decide that you are out and declare.' But Mr Ma has no intention of making a sporting declaration on the playing fields of Hong Kong sports administration. The man he is replacing, Englishman Howard Wells, has had to face many bouncers during his six years in charge, ducking and defending against an assortment of challenges posed by the overriding needs of the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee, which is the ultimate governing body for sport in Hong Kong. Mr Ma joins an organisation that in its six years of existence has yet to gain respect as a body of authority in Hong Kong. Although the board has implemented many programmes to help local sports, it has no real power to monitor those initiatives and to take steps to ensure that the funds are spent wisely. It has no influence in the selection of Hong Kong's national and Olympic teams and the most it can do is to withhold funds. But to do so would be to take a confrontational stance, which in the eyes of the ASF & OC translates into interference. The ASF & OC firmly believes in the Olympic Charter which denounces outside interference, especially that of government, in the affairs of its National Olympic Committees and sports associations. Mr Ma, however, is confident he can confront important issues without being confrontational through his three Cs method of consensus, consultation and communication. He believes that when it comes to funding, associations must be accountable for their actions. 'If I see how associations spend money and want an explanation of why money was spent a certain way, I would expect to be told,' he said. 'It is not a matter of interference; it is a matter of accountability. It's no longer a matter of 'give me money and stop meddling . . . keep your hands off'. I can't really be like that. 'It is important that you have a businesslike approach. Sport needs that approach to develop and prosper. 'It goes back to what I said about consensus, about wanting to achieve some sort of common ground through consultation, through dialogue and through direct liaison. 'If that does not work, we will figure out something else. 'But I must stress that I'm not into the job yet and, at the moment, I really don't know what it will be like.' Mr Ma will take up his post on December 1. He will be working alongside Mr Wells, who completes his contract at the end of March. His appointment finally came after an exhaustive search fraught with controversy. After the first advertisements appeared in early August, it was reported that none of the 60-odd applicants was good enough for the job. It even led to speculation that Mr Wells would be asked to stay on, which would have contravened the board's official policy to localise the post by 1996. Indeed, Mr Wells might have had to continue if Mr Ma had not accepted the post. It is believed that Mr Ma did not apply for the job but was one of the candidates specifically sought out by Mr Wells.