The future of national coach Dollah Salleh is safe until Football Association of Malaysia carries out a full investigation into Tuesday night's disastrous 6-0 home defeat to Palestine, according to FAM President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Malaysia were humiliated in front of their own fans at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur in the second round of 2018 AFC World Cup qualifying, five days after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to minnows Timor-Leste.
Tengku Abdullah said the poor results would be discussed during a review conducted by the Technical and Youth Development Committee, headed by Mokhtar Ahmad.
"I am shocked and disappointed with the huge defeat. We hoped Dollah could rectify the flaws but it did not happen. The committee must study the performance of the coach because it was the committee that recommended the coach," Tengku Abdullah told Bernama.
Tengku Abdullah added that he had set the national team a target to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. These World Cup matches are also qualifiers for the next AFC showcase in the United Arab Emirates.
The heavy home defeat to unheralded Palestine brought back memories of Malaysia's humiliating home performance in the 2007 Asian Cup -- which they co-hosted with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. During that tournament, they lost 5-1 to China in their opening match and 5-0 to Uzbekistan in their second before a more respectable 2-0 defeat to regional powerhouses, Iran, in their final group game.
Two years later, K. Rajagobal took over as national coach to help revive their fortunes. They would be crowned champions of Southeast Asia by lifting the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup and they also won the 2009 and 2011 Southeast Asian Games football gold medal at U23 level, with Ong Kim Swee coaching the 2011 team.
Under Dollah, they over-achieved by making the final of the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup before losing to Thailand, but have failed to win at senior level during 2015, suffering two 6-0 defeats.
Tengku Abdullah hinted that a decision about the national coaching job would be made before Malaysia face the United Arab Emirates in their next AFC World Cup qualifier on Sep. 3.
Malaysia also suffered disappointment at U23 level at this month's Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, failing to get out of the group stage, under coach Ong.
Their FIFA world ranking stands at 162nd, below Indonesia (155th), Singapore (154th), Philippines (137th) and Vietnam (127th). Palestine, who inflicted Tuesday's night's thrashing, are 118th, having jumped 23 places since May.