Malaysian official who renamed stadium denies title is his name backwards, insists it is ‘Spanish or Greek’

Hakim Ariff insists name inversion was coincidence

The Malaysian stadium’s new name was the reverse of politician’s (KN Kiara Football Club)

A Malaysian official who renamed a stadium insists its new title, which is his name in reverse, is in fact an amalgam of Arabic and “Spanish or Greek”.

Hakim Ariff Md Noor, the district officer for the state of Kedah, said it was just a coincidence that the Ffira Mikah stadium’s new name was his name backwards. 

“It has nothing to do with my name. The name of this mini stadium has an implicit meaning. The name was chosen and proposed in an administrative meeting,” he told Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian.

“In Spanish or Greek, 'Ffira' means something great, while 'Mikah' in Arabic in conjunction with the name of an angel.”

While “mikah” resembles the Arabic word for angel, “malaikah”, “ffira” does not mean “great” in Spanish or Greek, nor does it appear to mean any other word.

The Ffira Mikah stadium, which is owned by Padang Terap District Council, was inaugurated by Mr Ariff last week after it received £37,000-worth of upgrades.

“I want to make the stadium a centre of excellence to revitalise football as a district product,” Judge Ariff said. “The filling of the stadium is more important than its name.”

He said the stadium would be renamed again in order to avoid allegations of impropriety.

“After this, it will be known as the Kuala Nerang Mini Stadium,” he said.

The “Ffira Mikah” sign over the pitch has reportedly now been removed by KN Kiara Football Club, which manages the stadium.