From powerhouse to ignominy: Perlis undone by fantastical promises of ‘Doraemon’

Almost out of nowhere, Perlis rose to prominence in the mid 2000’s, in the early days of the Malaysia Super League era.

The team representing the smallest state in Malaysia had shown potential in the last year of the Premier 1 era, in the 2003 season, finishing third in the league campaign, reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup and the final of the FA Cup, but it all came together in 2004, the first year the Super League was contested.

Under former player Norizan Bakar who was more fondly known as ‘Cikgu Jan’, the Northern Lions again ended their league campaign in third place, a somewhat disappointing finish considering that the league was only contested by eight sides at the time, and crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round, but they would shine in the Malaysia Cup. 

The trio of Sierra Leonean attacker Lamin Conteh, Zambian striker Phillimon Chepita as well as then 18-year old rising star Yusri Che Lah saw them go through to the knockout stage, where they would edge Negeri Sembilan and upset the mighty Pahang. They would win the cup in stunning if somewhat bizarre fashion, edging local rivals Kedah 1-0 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in the final match, thanks to a long throw-in by Adrien Jurad Chamrong that goalkeeper Megat Amir Faisal palmed into his own net just seven minutes into the match. It was Perlis’ first ever major title, and the first taste of the success that they would obtain in the next few years.

2005 was an even more sensational year for them, as they would emerge as the Super League champions, thanks to the goal-scoring prowess of new signing of Zambian forward Zachariah Simukonda, whose 18 league goals made him the seasons’ joint top-scorer.

The 2005/06 season (this season and the two following ones would be held in a European-style football calendar) saw them represent Malaysia in the AFC Cup, just narrowly missing out on the knockout stage by one point in the group stage. Although they could not defend their league title, they would recapture the Malaysia Cup title, edging Negeri Sembilan 2-1. 

The northern peninsular Malaysia team were arguably still a formidable side in the following two seasons, but they would play second fiddle to one of the best sides ever in domestic Malaysian football, their rivals Kedah who would bag the historic double-treble in the two seasons. Regardless, they were still good enough to take home the Sumbangsih Cup in the two seasons.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from then on as the Northern Lions’ successes would desert them. In 2009 they finished second in the league while crashing out of both cup competitions at the semi-final stage, and in the following years they would go into a freefall.

The departure of Dato’ Sri Shahidan Kassim, then Perlis state Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) as association president also meant diminishing financial support, which further led to the Northern Lions’ struggling to stay competitive.

In 2011 they ended the league campaign in last place, ending their decade-long stint in Malaysia’s top-tier. Three underwhelming seasons followed in the Premier League, before they were descend another tier into then-FAM League.

Thanks to former golden boy Yusri who then returned as head coach, they only spent one season in the third tier, but his eventual departure meant that Perlis’ return to the Premier League in the 2016 season would not be a long one.

Yusri Che Lah. Photo from Kelantan FA

Despite the appointment of Dollah Salleh fresh from his stint as the Malaysia head coach, they would end the league campaign in a lacklustre sixth place. He would return to Pahang at the end of the season, and Perlis would place bottom in 2017, thanks to a three-point deduction due to technical issues.

Just like in 2015, they would only spend one season in the FAM League, but the next chapter in the Northern Lions’ book would be as bizarre as it was disappointing.

Despite not winning promotion on merit in 2018 (they were placed bottom in FAM Cup Group B and did not even qualify for the play-offs), they were somehow deemed fit by competitions organiser Malaysian Football League (MFL) to replace 2018 FAM Cup champions Terengganu City in the 2019 Premier League, after City were denied the promotion on financial grounds.

Towards the end of the 2018 season, Perlis board voted Datuk Ahmad Amizal Shaifit Ahmad, ostensibly a business figure, as its president. Amizal immediately threw his weight around, rebranding the team, relocating its training base to Kuala Lumpur, almost 500 km away, and making several big-name signings including former Malaysia forward Safee Sali and Khyril Muhymeen. Their failed targets meanwhile included then Malaysia head coach Tan Cheng Hoe and teenage star Akhyar Rashid.

It did not take long for the whole thing to unravel. Just weeks into the 2019 season, their players complained that they had not been paid. Sensing the jig was up, MFL almost immediately expelled the Northern Lions from the league.

TERIMA KASIH ATAS SEGALANYA. SELAMAT MALAM SEMUA#singautara #northernlions #demimukuningbiruku pic.twitter.com/Qulz7BKnk1

— Official PERLIS Northern Lions (@perlisfootball) February 15, 2019

Amizal soon stepped down, amidst rumours that he is a conman who had been involved in several scams in the region, and that his ‘Datuk‘ honorific was fraudulent. Worse still, it was reputed that Ahmad Amizal Shaifit Ahmad is not even his real name and that it is another one of his many aliases.

By this time, he had been been given the derisive moniker ‘Doraemon’ by Malaysian football fans after the popular Japanese comic character, due to his physical figure as well as his (failed) attempt to produce fantastical achievements out of nothing. It’s safe to say that this is one alias he is not interested in adopting.

‘Datuk’ ‘Ahmad Amizal Shaifit Ahmad’. Photo by MFL

As comical as their latest episode may sound, the fallout to Perlis is indeed severe. According to the New Straits Times, they had been barred by FIFA from signing new players until they settle the wages of a former player and a former staff, while the Malaysian FA has banned them from competing altogether for the same issue.

It is unlikely that the board of the team, which is based in the Perlis state, one of the poorest and least populous states in the country, will be able to raise the cash to settle their arrears anytime soon to return to competition. Their most plausible hope is for another state politician to take the helm and provide the resources to make the payments and start competing again. And even if this were to happen, it will perhaps take another lifetime for their fans to see the Northern Lions capture another major title again.