IPOH: Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu has condemned the racist comment hurled by a Facebook user against a national shuttler who represented Malaysia in the Sudirman Cup 2021 tournament in Vantaa, Finland.
He said the comment was unacceptable, especially as the player had fought hard at the prestigious mixed team tournament.
"Keluarga Malaysia (the Malaysian Family) is like a bunch of bananas, some are good, some are bad and some do not know how to use good language when talking about something.
"We are made up of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and so on. Do not despise others because of their race, skin colour or religion... More so those who are fighting to make Malaysia's name famous," he during a visit to Kampung Manjoi.
The racist remarks came about during the semi-finals of the tournament yesterday.
Malaysia lost 1-3 to Japan thus failing to advance to the final today.
Commenting on the performance of the national shuttlers, Ahmad Faizal said he was impressed with the enthusiasm displayed by the national shuttlers.
"They promised to reach the quarter-finals but made it to the semi-finals... So we were eliminated (in the semi-finals) but to me, they have shown such amazing spirit," he said. The semi-final tie ended at about 1am today.
Apart from that, he hoped the national badminton players would qualify for the final of the Thomas Cup, scheduled to take place from Oct 9 to 17 in Aarhus, Denmark based on their performance in the Sudirman Cup.
"But what we expect from them is to show high-level sportsmanship and all the results (in the Thomas Cup) we will accept," he said. -- Bernama