It’s unfortunate that there is still a lot of racism, even in the world of sports. A national athlete was recently suspended over a racist comment she made about the AR Rahman concert and prior to that, an Indonesian coach was caught using racist terms to address an opposing team. Now a former national player is under fire for making some very racist comments.
Malaysian coach and former badminton player Bong Guang Yik recently uploaded a video on TikTok that’s currently going viral. The ex-shuttler made some controversial remarks saying that the reason for the declining performance of Malaysian athletes is due to the Badminton Association Malaysia (BAM)’s poor management by Malay-Muslims.
https://twitter.com/AhboyBadminton/status/1623923975276621824?s=20&t=0uLdl5NVZsblV1zlqbqgkA
“BAM is the worst, we were not treated fairly cause all resources went to Dato Lee Chong Wei. I think this is because of the way Malays are managing it,” he said in a translated video posted by @AhBoyBadminton on Twitter. He further claimed that Malays have no intention of managing BAM; blaming them for being ‘lazy’ and for praying 5 times a day.
Before ending the video, the former athlete suggested that BAM should be managed by Chinese people as he believes there would significant improvements. After the post went viral, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia, Hannah Yeoh released her statement on Twitter regarding the coach’s racist remarks saying that she strongly condemns any racial and religious speech in the industry.
The politician also confirmed that Bong Guang Yik is no longer a national shuttler and is currently not residing in Malaysia. The 44-year-old politician dismissed his claims saying that religious practices have never been an issue nor has it ever affected athletes’ performances. “Sports must be free from any racial and political elements. All national athletes are a source of inspiration to the community and are advised to be careful with their respective social media content,” Hannah tweeted.
Although the ex-national shuttler has since apologised for the video, the damage has already been done. BAM also responded to the claims saying that they do not condone any racist remarks and “will pursue this issue including sending an official complaint to the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA).”
Former no.1 in the men’s doubles event, Tan Boon Heong (陈文宏) also shared his thoughts on the issue on Facebook. “If you want to do business, this is not the way. Don’t just bring up people’s religion. This isn’t right, respect everyone please,” he wrote. At the time of writing, there is currently no response from the CBA. Watch his apology here:
@hypemalaysia Former national shuttler apologises for racist remarks
