Unifying Through Soccer

About 85,000 Malaysian soccer fans watched the first game between Manchester United and Malaysia on July 18, 2009. What a huge crowd! This, clearly, shows that Malaysians are, indeed, passionate about football. A sea of red - the Manchester United FC colour - was seen markedly around the Bukit Jalil Stadium. According to a news article printed in a Malaysian daily, one jersey itself costs RM259. Only a devoted soccer fan will come forward with that amount of money, to purchase a jersey, that he was going to wear for only a few hours in a year.

Football has that much hold on the people of Malaysia, attracting huge crowds whenever a good game is in store; crowds of all races, religion and creed. Now, this game can be used to promote unity amongst the Malaysians. 

Actually, true sports does not recognize human colour. One who is capable and is wiling to strive for excellence, excels in his sport. And one who excels in the sport that he has chosen, will be, in turn, chosen by the officials of authority of that sports to represent the country. That’s fine, and that’s the way it should be. And that is exactly what has been done by the sports authorities in Malaysia. Congratulations to them. However, sadly, that is where the predicament of displaying unity in sports lies. Take that game of Manchester United and Malaysia, for instance. Malaysia, being comprised of various races, it was very conspicuous. We could only see the Malay and Indian players on the field, that day. Sadly, not even one Chinese player was on the field, let alone on the bench. Agreed that the managers and the coaches chose only the best players around, but in Malaysia, where, we are aiming for unity of the races, through the 1Malaysia concept, they should have chosen at least one Chinese player to represent the nation. Just imagine, what good that should have done to uplift the spirit of the Malaysian citizens of Chinese roots!

Good Chinese players are abound in Malaysia. One could see them enjoying football in the fields around the nation. They have their clubs. They are not strangers to football. We have seen the likes of Soh Chin Aun, James Wong, Ong Yu Tiang, Kang Hung Meng, just to mention a few of the football greats of the past. Therefore, to say that there aren’t any good Chinese players to pick would be an understatement.

Currently, there are Chinese players playing for the states. If they can play for the states, they should be good enough to play for the nation, after having given the necessary training and coaching. Surely, we can choose at least one of them and expose him to international football, develop him and utilize him for the holistic purpose of instilling the feeling of pride and oneness of all Malaysians. He may not be on par with the others in the team, but this is where flexibility and a bit of backwards bending are called for, in support of the nation’s vision of 1Malaysia. 

Who knows, after regular exposure to vigorous and quality football we may yet see another Soh Chin Aun or Ong Yu Tiang.