KUANTAN, MALAYSIA - Times have changed and so should the approaches taken to end football match-fixing, said Tengku Mahkota Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) vice-president said the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and enforcement agencies should identify how those involved carried out their unlawful activities as it might differ from tactics employed in the mid 1990s.

Tengku Abdullah said the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency should also adopt a pro-active approach to identify the local and international networks involved in football bribery.

"The problem now is more complicated because in the Internet era, there are various ways that can be used to fix matches, not only in Malaysia but in Europe," he said after attending an appreciation dinner for Pahang cyclists here on Saturday night.

"There may be international connections involved and I'm afraid it will spread further."

He also urged FAM to check on claims that the match-fixing happened because some players did not get their salaries on time.

Tengku Abdullah supported the move to suspend the Malaysia Cup while waiting for investigations to be completed.

Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said sports associations should not neglect the welfare of their players as this may expose them to corruption.

He said there were reports that some state football associations had failed to pay the players' salaries for months.

"I hope the FAM and state FAs will solve this problem," he said after closing a national-level paintball competition yesterday.

However, he stressed that the players should not use this as an excuse to accept bribes.

Ismail said the ministry had allocated sufficient funds for the sports associations.