PETALING JAYA, June 4 — All 18 affiliates of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) unanimously approved amendments to the FAM Statutes proposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at the FAM Extraordinary Congress here today.

The approval was reached after delegates debated several provisions in the draft statutes before AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John and AFC deputy secretary-general Vahid Kardany provided clarification on issues raised.

Earlier, Windsor said the AFC-proposed draft statutes comprised 94 articles following an audit of FAM’s administration, aimed at strengthening governance and ensuring positive reforms within the national football governing body.

Among the key proposals are the abolition of the deputy president’s post, the reduction of vice-presidential seats to three, and the restructuring of the FAM Executive Committee (Exco).

The 77-page draft statutes also propose an expansion of FAM’s affiliate membership, including granting Super League clubs automatic affiliate status and voting rights at congresses, subject to the condition that they are separate entities from state football associations.

In addition, club representatives from the Amateur Football League (AFL), the National Women’s League and the Malaysia Premier Futsal League, as well as the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) and the Referees Association, are also proposed to become FAM affiliates.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Honorary President Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin (2nd left) together with Secretary-General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John (2nd right) speaking at a press conference after the 2026 FAM Extraordinary Congress in Kuala Lumpur June 4, 2026. — Bernama pic

Under the proposed new Executive Committee (Exco) composition, seven seats will be allocated, with three reserved for representatives of state associations, including the Malaysian Malay Football Association, Royal Malaysia Police Football Association, Malaysian Armed Forces Football Association, Malaysian Indian Sports Council and Malaysian Chinese Football Association.

Two additional seats will be allocated to club representatives, one seat to a women’s representative and one expert seat to be represented by either the Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (PJBM), PFAM or the Referees Association.

Meanwhile, FAM affiliates also unanimously approved the Electoral Code and Organisational Regulations of the national football governing body.

Today’s Extraordinary Congress was chaired by AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John and attended by FAM honorary president Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, 35 delegates representing all 18 affiliates, as well as Fifa and AFC representatives and observers.

In January, all members of the FAM Executive Committee (Exco) for the 2025-2029 term announced their collective and voluntary resignation.

The decision was made unanimously in consideration of their responsibility to the organisation without regard to personal interests or positions. It was also described as a prudent and principled move in light of public attention surrounding issues related to heritage players and to safeguard FAM’s integrity. — Bernama

Editors’ Vox is a blog from AGU’s Publications Department.

Often times when we think “scientist,” we picture a white lab coat, a pipette. Or, a marine biologist covered in seaweed samples. A geologist with dusty knees and hands full of rock fragments. Endless blue gloves. What we may not always picture is our favorite professors, colleagues, or even students advocating for science to policy makers.

Federal policy decisions have a direct impact on science funding, research priorities, and the role of science in society, and the AGU community has a critical role to play in those conversations. Each year, AGU’s Science Policy and Government Relations (SPGR) team organizes and hosts Congressional Visit Days to connect Earth and space scientists to their elected officials. As a member of AGU’s scientific publications team, I joined the April 21-22 Days of Action to learn about the bills currently impacting our workforce and research, how to craft messages that both speak to our personal experiences, and to ask our elected officials to advocate with and for us.

As a D.C. native, I grew up in close proximity to the power of science, the alphabet agencies, NOAA, NASA, NIH, and USDA. Institutions where the best and brightest were given the resources and support to learn, record, and disseminate knowledge on behalf of our country. In my current role with AGU as a non-profit publisher, I took to the Hill to share my experiences on the publishing and academic peer-review landscape. My role allows me to see first-hand how budget cuts and shifting attitudes have impacted critical programs at the agencies named above. This Days of Action event brought together 58 participants with one goal: to share personal stories that related to four bills:

1. The RESEARCHER Act (H.R. 3054, S.1664)- addresses graduate student financial instability.
2. KEEP STEM Talent Act (H.R. 2627, S.1233)- strengthens the U.S. scientific workforce by making it easier for skilled international STEM graduates from U.S. universities to stay in the U.S.
3. Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R.2550 passed House, S.2837)- seeks to protect the U.S. federal scientific workforce by restoring collective bargaining (union) rights.
4. Scientific Integrity Act (H.R.1106)- protects the rights of U.S. federal scientists and researchers by safeguarding scientific integrity in federal research and decision-making.

Two participants spoke on their experiences meeting with elected representatives and uniquely captured just how closely the Earth and spaces sciences touch all of our lives.

Sheila Baber, an early career scientist with The University of Maryland, felt compelled to join due to “the uncertain future for myself, my peers, and the American scientific enterprise.” She noted, “It has been especially difficult to witness the deteriorating relationship between scientists, decision makers, and the public. This past year, with its rapidly changing federal landscape, has been a wakeup call to re-engage and remind the public of how science research gives back to the community.”

Ryan Haupt, long-time AGU member and the Executive Director at National Youth Science Academy, with a 10-year track record of geoscience advocacy, emphasized the importance of building relationships with elected officials. “Regardless of party affiliation, I want those staffers to know that when they meet with me or any other AGU member, they will get honest and informed feedback from folks who are truly passionate about our fields,” Ryan told me. “[Experts who can speak to how current bills] impact issues like improved financial support for graduate students, helping international students stay in the US to join the STEM workforce, and protecting funding for federal science agencies and the folks who work for them.”

As a participant myself, I joined the Maryland group to meet with Senator Chris Van Hollen’s office. Van Hollen and I met briefly at the Stand Up for Science March in 2025. His voting track record indicates a long-standing commitment to the scientific community, and he champions bills that support funding federal agencies like NOAA.

Working in scientific publishing has allowed me to peer behind lab doors, into research vessels sailing through the Arctic, and into the entire ecosystem that is peer-reviewed research. A system that relies on incoming eager students, federal grant funding, consortium agreements between the biggest institutional libraries and the biggest publishing houses in the country, scientific integrity, and future, stable career opportunities. Finding and discovering the best and the brightest means funding, protecting, and supporting the best and the brightest.

Open, accessible science builds and supports both public trust and future scientific advancements. As the world widens and we are all met with increased access to studies, content, and news, scientific storytelling and literacy have never been more important for ensuring public trust. Transparency from the lab and from the field to published output allows for data to be discussed, fact-checked, and reused to support future scientific discovery. Days of Action demonstrates that we have a unique role to play in supporting the health, safety, and future of our country. If you feel called to get involved, please see resources available from SPGR.

Ryan reminds us, “There are lots of ways to participate in our democracy… find where you can best serve as a leader…don’t try to do it all, but try to do something.”

—Emille Beller (ebeller@agu.org, 0009-0009-7274-0706), Senior Program Coordinator, AGU Publications

Citation: Beller, E. (2026), The impact of advocacy: American Geophysical Union’s Days of Action, Eos, 107, https://doi.org/10.1029/2026EO265020. Published on 14 May 2026.

This article does not represent the opinion of AGU, Eos, or any of its affiliates. It is solely the opinion of the author(s).

Text © 2026. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

US senator is getting ‘excellent care’ after being hospitalized on Sunday morning, spokesperson says

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Mitch ⁠McConnell, a US senator ⁠from Kentucky, was admitted ​to ‌the ‌hospital ‌on Sunday morning, ‌a ​spokesperson ⁠said ​in ​a statement.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” the statement read.

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• Court denies emergency appeal to retain Trump’s name on Kennedy Center

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Donald Trump and his allies have discussed pushing lawmakers to pass a resolution aimed at voiding his first-term impeachments, the Wall Street Journal reported last night, citing people familiar with the matter.

“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said when asked about the resolution in a phone call this week with the Journal. “It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation.”

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Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows.

As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis.