Abdul Rahman was appointed in October 1998 to succeed Hatem Souissi as the head coach of Malaysia, after the dismal performance in the 1998 Tiger Cup. With Malaysia, he guided them to third place in 2000 Tiger Cup, although Malaysia also were eliminated at the group stage of 1999 Southeast Asian Games football competition and failed to qualify for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon. He leaves his post after the 2000 Tiger Cup, succeeded by Allan Harris.