Hey, that’s our logo, FAM staff tells Malaysia Pickleball Federation

By Graig Nunis

The Malaysia Pickleball Federation’s (MPF) logo that appears on the Asian Pickleball Association’s website is raising eyebrows as it is said to be almost identical to one owned and trademarked by the FA of Malaysia (FAM).

An FAM staff highlighted this to Twentytwo13 after reading about MPF’s status with the Sports Commissioner’s Office in our article published on Nov 20.

“I read your article about the Malaysia Pickleball Federation not being registered with the Sports Commissioner’s Office, but what struck me was their logo,” said the FAM insider, who requested anonymity.

“It is almost identical to the one we launched in 2016 when we renamed the national football team as Harimau Malaysia. There was even a contest to design that logo.”

FAM unveiled the Harimau Malaysia logo, designed by Muhammad Amzar Mohamed, on Sept 16, 2016, before the kick-off of the 2016 Malaysia Day Charity Match between the Dugong All Stars and the Harimau Malaysia selection team at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

The design by the 22-year-old received the highest number of votes in an online public poll held from March 22 to April 3, 2016. This was after his logo was chosen as one of the five best by a professional judging panel on March 8, 2016, from the 2,000 entries submitted during the Harimau Malaysia logo design competition, which ran from Feb 3 to 29, 2016.

In April 2017, FAM reverted to the name Harimau Malaya and its original logo.

“Although we reverted to using the Harimau Malaya name and the original tiger image found in FAM’s crest in 2017, we still own the trademark.”

The insider added that FAM has not given anyone permission to use the logo.

“Malaysia Pickleball Federation may argue it is not similar because they have a pickleball at the bottom, whereas ours had the crescent moon and a 14-pointed star.

“Anyone can see it is essentially the same logo except for that change. We haven’t granted anyone permission to use or modify our trademarked logo.”

Twentytwo13 tried reaching out to MPF, but it doesn’t have an official website, and the Facebook page associated with it belongs to a different entity.

The page’s administrator, Jerome Teh, explained that the Facebook account has been active since 2024 and that he was informed someone is trying to register the name.

“We already have the Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA), which is registered with the Sports Commissioner’s office. I’m not involved in any of the issues surrounding this matter,” Teh said.

“We will continue to support MPA, regardless of who is involved.”

The latest allegation comes as the legitimacy of MPF itself is under scrutiny.

On Nov 20, Sports Commissioner Arrifin Ghani confirmed with Twentytwo13 that the Malaysia Pickleball Federation is not registered with his office – a requirement under the Sports Development Act for any sports body operating in Malaysia.

Under Section 15(1) of the Sports Development Act 1997, sports bodies must be registered and approved by the Sports Commissioner’s Office before conducting any sporting activities. Failure to comply may result in severe penalties. Section 18 further empowers the Sports Commissioner to approve, reject, or modify any registration application.

Despite being unregistered, the Malaysian Pickleball Federation appears on the website of the Asian Pickleball Association (APA), a newly formed regional organisation.

MPF’s representative is listed as Marc Chua, who also appears as one of APA’s directors.

Twentytwo13 sent APA two messages asking for clarification and is awaiting a response.