KOTA KINABALU : A football player’s career after playing might go in a variety of directions.
While some choose to become coaches, others choose to manage teams while others choose to join football associations.
Nonetheless, a significant number of former football players choose to give up the game completely and seeks career in politics instead.
For instance before entering politics,
Henry Saimpon, a former Sabah midfield player, actively participated in the running of the non governmental organisation –
the Malaysian Kadazan Dusun Murut Organisation (KDM Malaysia), and
is currently holding the position of deputy president of KDM Malaysia.
Henry, 49, began joining the Sabah Premier League team in 1997.
He then donned the Johor FC jersey in 2002 before returning to play for the Sabah team from 2004 to 2009.
From 2019 to 2020, Henry was appointed as the Manager of the Sabah Football Team.
His ability to manage the team became evident when Sabah emerged as the champions of the Premier League and subsequently qualified for the Super League.
In 2018, Henry, who hails from Kampung Bongol, Kiulu, began dabbling in the political arena.
His involvement in the political arena became more prominent after he was appointed as the Vice President of the Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) in 2023, which at that time was led by Datuk Peter Anthony.
His busy political schedule did not hinder Henry from pursuing success in the field of education.
With the blessing of hard work, he successfully obtained a Diploma in Political Science from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
And now Henry is in the final stage of completing his master’s degree in political science from the same university and is expected to receive his scroll at the convocation ceremony at the end of this year.
“Just like football, I see the field of politics as quite challenging.
“However, with my experience as a Sabah player, manager of the Saban football team, and deputy president of an NGO, I am ready to face this challenge and serve my community in Kiulu,” he said.
Previously, former Sabah player and national player Baddrol Bakhriar contested in the state election in DUN Gurun, Kedah, and successfully won the seat with style.
Will Henry be able to achieve the same success as Baddrol?
The answer will only be known when more than 16,000 Kiulu voters go out to vote in the PRN to be held in a few months.
The Kiulu state constituency is currently represented by Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.
