When football takes flight at SNBJ - that 1998 Malaysia Cup final

The Bukit Jalil National Stadium was built because Malaysia was to host the Commonwealth Games in September of 1998, officially opened by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in July of that year, it is now the official home of the national football team of Malaysia.

But the Harimau Malaya wasn’t the first team to play a game of football in the biggest capacity stadium in Southeast Asia, that honour would fall to Perak and Terengganu, who contested the 1998 Malaysia Cup final - the first match ever to be played in this illustrious stadium.

Neither were the favourites to reach the final that year given that Perak only finished in mid-table of the old First Division while Terengganu were a Second Division side, albeit they finished champions of the league to gain promotion to the top tier at the end of the campaign.

However just like everyone else that season, the intention was to etch themselves into the history books by being the first set of players to taste a footballing atmosphere in the newest and most advanced stadium anywhere in the region at that point in time.

Current PKNP FC head coach Abu Bakar Fadzim was one of those players who made history and in this exclusive interview, opens up for the very first time about that magical night from 22 years ago.

“Our team that time had a strong determination to be in the history books. We knew how huge and honour it would be to play the final at Bukit Jalil adding to the fact that Perak haven’t even reached the final in 28 years. That year we struggled in the league but came into our own in the Malaysia Cup.

“The Bukit Jalil Stadium was the pride of the country at that time with its huge capacity, so everyone was keen to get a chance to play there. We all wanted to play in front of the 90,000 or 100,000 crowd that the stadium can hold at that time. 

“When we went for the last training session in the stadium itself the day before the final, we were given an hour to train. Stepping onto the pitch, we were all captivated by what was around us. We love our home, the Perak Stadium but this was something else. 

“For a good few minutes, all we did was soak in the surroundings of this majestic new stadium and all its glory. There was no rush, we took the time to remember our run to the final and marvelled at this magnificent structure with our jaws wide open, like how a villager enters a big city for the first time!” Abu Bakar told Goal.

The excitement to appear for the first time at the stadium wasn’t only with the players and officials but also the fans. It was a capacity crowd at the new stadium and it was a cacophony of noise that the Perak and Terengganu fans, both taking up the full extent of their quotas, made this match even more memorable.

The crowd were singing their hearts out to support their teams, shouts of derision at every mistake or what they assumed to be unfair refereeing decisions were occasionally supported by approximately 90,000 people stamping their feet on the concrete floor in unison - the atmosphere was unbelievable.

On the pitch after a scoreless first half, Perak had taken the lead through young hotshot V. Saravanan in the 58th minute but Terengganu would levelled proceedings just 11 minutes later through Md Noor Derus as the neither sides were willing to give way in the match.

The tension and pressure was not only felt among the crowd but also by the players and Abu Bakar in particular. He wasn’t selected to start by Karl-Heinz Weigang the Perak coach and thought his chance had gone to play there when the legendary German had a last-minute change of thought.

“I was only on the bench at the start of the match. With the score at 1-1, the changes started to happen. The first two substitutions had already been done but I wasn’t summoned. In my mind I was thinking just how much I wanted to play in front of the packed stadium.

“With around 20 minutes left, the rest of the substitutes were out warming out and Weigang called for the last change. My heart sank a little when I realised it was Shahril Nizam who was called and not me. It felt a bit like the movie ‘Escape to Victory’ and my chance to play in front of the crowd had gone.

“As I was beginning to open my laces and Shahril was already at the touchline ready to go in, the late Weigang suddenly changed his mind. He stopped the change and then he called me over. I couldn’t believe it! Quickly I did up my boots again and got ready.

“Weigang told me that there’s only a limited time left to play and he wanted me to mark Seidu Issifu. He told me that this was my chance and he believed in me. It got me so pumped and I just wanted to repay him for this change to play in the final,” explained Abu Bakar.

The rest was history as Perak went on to lift the coveted Malaysia Cup for the 6th time when Janus Kcrecka crashed a fifth penalty to the roof of the net in the shoot-out after Badrul Hisham Abdullah had sent Terengganu’s fourth spot kick well over the bar.

That was the first ever official football match that the Bukit Jalil National Stadium witnessed.