Paul Lam

Paul Lam, also recorded as Paul WY Lam and known as "Gungho" Paul Lam, is a Malaysian paintball tournament organiser. His international organising work included Nation Cup 2004 and the 2005 Asia Pacific Paintball Championship, which preceded the establishment of the Paintball Asia League Series (PALS) and Paintball World Cup Asia.[6]

Lam founded PALS, directed the Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) and World Cup Asia, and served as deputy of the provisional steering committee formed during efforts to establish the Malaysian Paintball Federation in 2010.[1][2][3][4]

Paul Lam
Also known as	Paul WY Lam; Paul W. Y. Lam; "Gungho" Paul Lam
Country	Malaysia
Occupation	Paintball tournament organiser
Associated events	Nation Cup 2004; Asia Pacific Paintball Championship 2005; Paintball World Cup Asia
Associated organisations	Paintball Asia League Series; Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit; Malaysian Paintball Federation
Documented roles	Founder and chief executive officer of PALS; tournament director; federation pro-tem deputy

Early involvement in paintball

In a September 2015 interview with Paintball.Media, Lam recalled becoming involved in recreational paintball in New South Wales, Australia, during 1988 and 1989. He said that he subsequently opened a paintball field in Malaysia with business partners in 2003 and established the Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit.[6]

Lam also played in international tournaments associated with PALS. He described competing with his team in the Intercontinental Cup in Toulouse, France, as a personal goal, after which he largely stopped playing.[6]

Tournament organisation

Nation Cup 2004

Lam's international organising work preceded the establishment of PALS. In his 2015 interview, he recalled organising an international tournament in Malaysia in 2004, known as the Nation Cup, with 16 participating teams.[6]

Lam described the tournament as an early step in developing international paintball competition in Malaysia. It was followed by a larger championship in 2005 and subsequently by World Cup Asia.[6]

Asia Pacific Paintball Championship

In 2005, Lam and his partners organised the Asia Pacific Paintball Championship, which he said attracted more than 80 teams.[6]

Lam linked the formation of PALS to this period. He recalled that the organisers wanted to develop international competition in Asia and establish a World Cup event in the region, alongside the existing American and European World Cup tournaments. According to his account, their Malaysian event took the name World Cup Asia in 2006.[6]

Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit

Lam was tournament director of the Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit. An announcement for the opening event of the 2010 season identified him as tournament director and listed Junaidi Khalil as head of rules and regulations, Allan Phang as head of team liaison and registration, and Amber Wong as head of media and promotions.[1]

The same announcement described an equipment-loan arrangement under which a limited number of developing Division 3 teams could obtain tournament markers for the season.[1]

Paintball Asia League Series

Lam was identified in 2011 promotional material as the founder and chief executive officer of the Paintball Asia League Series.[2] PALS operated an international tournament circuit in Asia, with Paintball World Cup Asia serving as its concluding event.

In his 2015 interview, Lam dated the formation of PALS to 2005 in Malaysia and described it as a collaboration between friends from several countries who wanted to develop international tournament paintball in Asia. He distinguished between partners who hosted events and promoting partners who were not yet ready to host a full tournament.[6]

An announcement concerning AirAsia's sponsorship of World Cup Asia 2011 named Lam as PALS founder and chief executive officer. The event was scheduled for 10–13 November 2011 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre on Langkawi and was organised by PALS Events and AKR Events.[2]

Lam described his own responsibilities as overall management and troubleshooting across the league and World Cup Asia, while emphasising the contribution of the PALS team and its partners.[6]

Paintball World Cup Asia

The official handbook for Paintball World Cup Asia 2010 identified Lam as tournament director. It also listed Allan Phang as international liaison, Amber Wong as head of media and promotions and Maz as Malaysian liaison.[3]

The handbook associated World Cup Asia with the earlier Asia Pacific Paintball Championship and the development of PALS.[3]

In his 2015 interview, Lam described World Cup Asia's development from an outdoor tournament into an indoor event on Langkawi in 2011. He identified the move from Kuala Lumpur and the involvement of Malaysian royalty, government representatives and corporate sponsors as particularly significant developments.[6]

Lam also emphasised the social side of the tournament, describing friendships between participants, opening and closing dinners and gatherings outside the playing programme as important parts of its appeal.[6]

Malaysian Paintball Federation initiative

Lam participated in the 2010 consultation concerning the proposed formation of the Malaysian Paintball Federation.

A public hearing was held at the National Sports Institute in Bukit Jalil on 25 February 2010. Notices for the hearing used the name Paul "Gungho" Lam and identified him as one of the contacts for participating field operators, team captains and other members of the paintball community.[4]

Documents submitted at the hearing used the name Paul WY Lam. Lam prepared a proposed interim-committee list and a statement setting out the proposed federation's objectives, structure and election process.[4]

Following the hearing, Lam was named deputy of the provisional steering committee. The other published officers were Amirul of CMX Paintball Club as president, Wong Yoong Peow as secretary-general, Muhammad Muhsin as assistant secretary-general and Jasni Shafie as treasurer.[4]

The documents announced intended dates for presenting a constitution and holding an annual general meeting. They do not establish that those later proceedings occurred as scheduled.[4]

Langkawi events

In June 2011, the Malaysian paintball website Seburo published an interview with Lam concerning his meeting with former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.[5]

Lam said that the discussion concerned World Cup Asia and the Command & Conquer scenario event on Langkawi. According to Lam's account, Mahathir agreed to serve as patron of Command & Conquer.[5] The interview does not independently document any resulting government funding or policy commitment.

References

"MPOC 2010 Starts This Weekend", Villain Paintball, 18 January 2010.
"AirAsia – The Official Airline for World Cup Asia 2011", Villain Paintball, 20 October 2011.
Paintball World Cup Asia 2010: For Players, World Cup Asia tournament handbook, 2010.
"Formation of the Malaysia Paintball Federation", Persatuan Paintball Malaysia, February 2010.
"Exclusive: Paul Lam's Meeting with Tun Dr Mahathir", Seburo, 29 June 2011.
Staff Report, "An Interview With Paul YM Lam", Paintball.Media, September 2015, pp. 67–71. Photographs by Gary Baum.

External links

"Exclusive: Villain Talks to Paul Lam", Villain Paintball, May 2010