Mokhtar Dahari

**Dato' Mohd Mokhtar Dahari** AMN DSSA DIMP (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a Malaysian football player from Setapak, Selangor (present-day Kuala Lumpur). He was known as the best Malaysian footballer in the 1970s. During the 1970s, Mokhtar played for Malaysia mainly as a striker, and with his help, the team became one of the best teams in Asia and managed to defeat Asian giants such as South Korea and Japan. He was nicknamed "Super Mokh" because of his playing skills, his strength and his ability to score many incredible goals throughout his career. One of his famous moments was when he shook hands with Diego Maradona before a friendly game between Selangor FA against Boca Juniors. Although not recognised internationally, Mokhtar scored 175 goals for Selangor and 20 goals in 13 appearances for Kwong Yik Bank.

## Early life

Born on 13th November 1953 at Setapak, Selangor (present-day in Kuala Lumpur). Mokhtar is the first born son of couple Aminah Sharikan and Dahari Abeng. His father, Dahari, worked as a lorry driver but did not earn very much to support his family. His family moved to Kampung Pandan in Kuala Lumpur when Mokthar was 11 years old. Upon moving, he attended secondary school at Victoria Institution in the city and began to show interest and talent in playing football at an early age. He played for his school and later for his home state, the Selangor FA.

## Career

### Playing career

*If you're ashamed to stand by your colours, you'd better seek for another flag*!

Mokhtar first played for 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 Selangor. He helped the club win many tournaments, mainly the Malaysia Cup with 10 titles and scoring 175 goals altogether. 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 League XI 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.

Mokhtar was famous for his speed and roars of "Supermokh" from the crowds were common with many of the younger generation idolised him with some have tried to imitate his moves on the field. Mokhtar once scored a goal for Malaysia from the half way line beaten Joe Corrigan through an incredible shot in a 1–1 draw against England B in 1978, dribbling past half of the opposing team coached by Bobby Robson. Even memorable was when Gordon Hill praised Mokhtar as "Hero Dahari" in Shoot! magazine in his column after the England B tour in 1978.

### Coaching career

After Mokhtar started getting injury problems, he became a local coach to help the younger generation become better footballers.

One of his trainees was a young Roshan Thiran, future Co-founder and CEO of Leaderonomics, who regularly speaks on his experiences playing under Mokhtar. Mokhtar asked his former Selangor partner, Reduan Abdullah to write a book about his life and his career. Mokhtar also coached for Selangor at times. After his retirement, he became a player and mainly a coach for Kwong Yik Bank after his career.

## Retirement

Mokhtar Dahari retired in May 1986 after winning the Malaysia Cup for Selangor FA. After the award giving ceremony, Mokhtar went to the club's president and proceeded to give his number 10 jersey, telling the president to let the club keep the jersey for him. He came out of retirement in January 1987 to play one more season for Selangor FA.

## Personal life

Before becoming a professional footballer, he played other sports such as badminton, sepak takraw and hockey. Mokhtar worked for PKNS in the afternoon and played football in the evening. He earned little during his time with PKNS. He later quit PKNS and worked for Kwong Yik Bank to gain better prospects for himself and his family. Mokhtar met Tengku Zarina Tengku Ibrahim through friends. After knowing her for 10 years, they finally got married on 24 February 1979. He then became the father of three children: Nur Azera (the eldest daughter), Mohd Reza (the eldest son) and Nur Arina (the youngest daughter).

### Illness and death

Mokhtar began having throat problems and went to the hospital to find out what the problem was. Doctors diagnosed him as having motor neurone disease (MND) with the discovery was only told to him and his wife. He then went to London with his wife in an attempt to cure his condition. After three years battling the disease and his condition getting worsened, Mokhtar died at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) on 11 July 1991. The press reported Mokhtar's suffering from muscular dystrophy as the cause of his death. His body was laid to rest at Taman Keramat Permai Muslim Cemetery in Taman Keramat, Ampang, Selangor. His life journey and the real cause of death was only revealed for the first time in a documentary called "*The Untold Truth About Supermokh*" in the National Geographic Channel on 30 August 2010, about 19 years after his death.