Last Saturday (28th January), AR Rahman’s “Secret of Success: Live in Malaysia 2023” concert was held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. The event also featured a special appearance from Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza. The legendary singer delivered a flawless performance of the Tamil-language song “Munbe Vaa”.
The concert reportedly was attended by over 60,000 attendees. Among those include our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Despite the mixed crowd, not everyone enjoyed the concert.
Malaysian hockey player Hanis Onn came under fire after she was caught leaving a racist remark about the concert recently. She can be seen leaving a reply on local publication @kosmo_online’s Instagram. The 26-year-old athlete commented, “The smell must have been the overpowering in there (Bukit Jalil Stadium).”
It didn’t take long for Hanis to be called out by netizens. Many of them have taken to social media to criticise the national player for her ignorance and blatant display of racism. Some even called for the current Youths and Sports Ministry to take action against her.
Following the online backlash, Hanis later came forth and apologised for the comment in a post shared on her socials. The Universiti Putra Malaysia alum explained, “Throughout my 10 years in the hockey world, I’ve been surrounded with friends from various races that strive for Malaysia. With that, I express deep regret for my carelessness and extend my apologies to those affected.”
In addition to Hanis, another individual was also called out for posting a racial slur on her social media. One user on Instagram named Fatin Amyra Lee shared a video detailing her experience at the concert. The avid fan of Siti Nurhaliza – known as SitiZoner – also used a term that was deemed offensive to Indians. “These Kel**g songs are giving me headache. (I) want Hindustani songs, please. Just waiting for TokTi to appear now…” she wrote in her post.
Amyra has since issued a public apology after facing the wrath of netizens online. Taking to her Instagram Stories, she clarified that she didn’t mean to come up with any racist remarks. She went on and claimed that since it was the first time she attended a large-scale concert, she became overwhelmed and didn’t choose her words carefully.
Wow. The audacity. Seriously girl? pic.twitter.com/YiIhLT4GSI
— Kesavan Vekraman (@Kesavan49) January 29, 2023
Both Hanis and Amyra have also set their socials to private mode, seemingly to avoid from being further attacked by netizens.
