BAM condemns racial slur against national shuttler Kisona

 

S Kisona was in the Malaysian team that defeated Indonesia 3-2 on Friday, but lost her singles match against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung by 22-20, 18-21, 21-19 over a gruelling 67 minutes. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia has condemned the use of a racial slur against national women’s singles player S Kisona.

A Facebook user had used a racial epithet when commenting on Kisona’s performance at the Sudirman Cup mixed-team championships in Finland.

“Such a dreadful remark is uncalled for, and we urge all Malaysians to condemn this senseless act,” the association said.

MIC Youth has called for an investigation into the matter. The youth wing’s secretary, Andrew David, said he had lodged a police report and called for action against the owner of the Facebook account. “The racist and hateful remarks undermines efforts to unite the people through sports,” he said.

BAM, which is the national governing body for badmintion, said it had “zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination” and would “always stand up for our players”.

It said BAM would continue to fight for the eradication of racism in sports.

Earlier today, sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the racial comment against Kisona was unacceptable, especially as the player fought hard to make Malaysia proud at the prestigious mixed team tournament. - FMT