19/10/2025
Assalaamu Alaikum brothers and sisters,
Over the weekend (17–19 October), the FMYM National Inter-Branch Competition was held at Nasinu Muslim Primary School. Unfortunately, the event did not go as planned, and several concerns need to be raised for the sake of improvement and fairness in future programs.
Despite the planner that was shared with branches, nothing seemed to be organized according to schedule.
Some of the competition rules were unclear and inconsistent — for example, individuals with teaching backgrounds were allowed in certain categories, while others who are not ʿUlama or teachers were restricted simply for being committee members.
Our Mathematics team was disqualified after the first round when one of our participants — an inactive NEC member for over a year — was told he could not participate. The reason given was he's NEC member, even though the only rule read out at the start stated that branches with Maths teachers should not participate. Ironically, another branch team with an active Maths teacher was still allowed to compete.
Our branch members participated from morning, yet when collecting lunch, they were asked to wait until others had finished — and even then, the condition of the food was disappointing.
The children’s competitions were also mishandled. The planner stated that games would begin after the parade at 10am, but by 9:30am, many games had already concluded, leaving our children out entirely.
Furthermore, only the top 16 teams were meant to qualify, yet a branch brought a full volleyball team from a non-qualified branch, and they were still allowed to play — raising serious questions about fairness and transparency.
We raise these points not to criticize any individual, but to call for better organization, accountability, and fairness in the future. FMYM represents unity, equality, and youth empowerment — values we hope will always be upheld in upcoming events.
Jazakallah khair.
