Mokhtar first played for F.A. Selangor in the Burnley Cup, which they won. He was later asked to play for the club regularly where he became the top scorer in his first season playing for F.A. Selangor. He helped the club win many tournaments, mainly the Malaysia Cup with 10 titles and scoring 177 goals altogether. He also played for Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, PKNS, Talasco and Kwok Ying Bank in the FAM Cup and Selangor League. To proving his loyalty for the team, he was quoted as saying: "I live and die for Selangor". Later, he was selected to play for the national team of Malaysia. He was only 19 years old when he first played for the national team in an international game, with his first game was against the Sri Lanka national football team in 1972. He helped Malaysia to win bronze in the 1974 Asian Games and two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 1977 and 1979 respectively. He even scored a double winning goals for 2–0 Malaysia Selection against Arsenal F.C. in a friendly game in 1975 that led to rumours of the English top clubs' interest in him. After the game, he had an offer from one of the European giants, the Real Madrid C.F. but declined to join because his patriotism to his country and native club of Selangor. Known for his speed and accuracy, Mokhtar was named the best Asian striker by the World Soccer when he was 23 years old.