Persis Solo’s search for a new head coach following their sacking of Milomir Seslija on September has came to an end after the Laskar Sambernyawa announced the signing of former Malaysia national team and Sabah FC head coach Ong Kim Swee as their new boss on Monday.
“Officially ours. Ong Kim Swee is a Red,” read the caption accompanying a photo of Kim Swee on Persis Solo’s official Instagram account.
Persis announced Kim Swee’s arrival late on Monday at around 10:33 PM WIB, as the coach had only just arrived in Solo at that time. Initially, the club had planned to release the announcement at 7:23 PM, reflecting the year the club was founded (November 8, 1923).
“I see this as an opportunity to work with a club that has high ambitions. I am here with Persis to ensure that all parties share the same objectives, and our goal is to position Persis in a good place,” said Kim Swee, explaining his decision to join the club, as quoted from skor.id, “And that is my main aim—to ensure we can perform better moving forward.”
While there had already been rumors linking Kim Swee to the Laskar Sambernyawa job, his decision to pursue a career in the Liga 1 Indonesia came as a surprise, just as unexpected as his departure from a Sabah side sitting 3rd in the Liga Super Malaysia table.
“With a heavy heart, I have decided to take a different path by not continuing my role as head coach of Sabah FC when my contract ends in November 2024,” wrote Kim Swee in his farewell post, “My final duty was the match against Putrajaya Athletic on November 23, 2024.”
Kim Swee is widely recognized for his extensive experience in football coaching, particularly at the national team level. He served as head coach of Malaysia’s U-23 national team in two stints, from July 2011 to December 2013 and again from March 2017 to December 2019.
Under his leadership, the Malaysia U-23 team won the gold medal at the 2011 SEA Games and a silver medal at the same competition in 2017.
He also acted as caretaker coach for Malaysia’s senior national team twice (December 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014, and September 6, 2015 – March 24, 2017) and briefly led the squad from September 14 to October 3, 2014.
Before his tenure at Sabah FC, Kim Swee served as Technical Director for Malaysia’s national team (January 1 – September 10, 2021).
Aside from Sabah FC, Kim Swee has also coached other Malaysian clubs, including Melaka FA (July 2004 – June 2005) and Harimau Muda A (May 2009 – December 2014).
Kim Swee will become the first head coach from ASEAN to take charge of an Indonesian team since compatriot Raja Isa Akram Shah, who took charge of PSPS Pekanbaru between 2019 and 2020, and the first to work in the Indonesian top-flight since the 2014 Indonesia Super League season, when Raja Isa was in charge of Persijap Jepara.