CAN football loyalty be a gauge for political allegiance?
For starters, the fierce tribalism in football absolutely condemns fans who switch sides. Regardless of form, one is expected to tough it out.
On the contrary, no such disdain is attached when a person switches political parties with Malaysia full of examples of frog-hopping politicians.
Indeed, some politicians have more parties on their curriculum vitae (CV) than professional footballers have clubs.
This sentiment was very much evident following PMX’s senior advisor Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Aziz’s recent proclamation of support and admiration for Arsenal at a Champion’s League viewing party in Ampang on May 31.
Editor’s Note: The Gunners took on Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest (Hungary) following which the latter won 4-3 on penalties to emerge back-to-back European champion.
Poking fun at this supposed fluid loyalties, digital creator Roman Akramovic (@Syed Akramin) revealed that the former investment, trade and industry minister had previously “switched from Maybank to CIMB in his professional capacity as a banker, then from UMNO to PKR as a politician, and now from Liverpool to Arsenal as a football fan.
“Clearly, loyalty isn’t in his dictionary,” chided the obviously unimpressed influencer with a pro-opposition slant.
One commenter labelled Tengku Zafrul with the ultimate footballing insult by calling the current Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president a “glory hunter”.
Concurring, the poster chided that the 52-year-old who is also the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chairman “would probably jump ship to PAS if the Islamist party were to come to power”.
Other less-than-complementary terms used to describe Tengku Zafrul included “lalang”, “frog” and “chameleon”.
The view that politicians were a slimy breed was reinforced by a comment that jokingly highlighted that even principles were interchangeable. What more football allegiances?
It was also noted by some observers that whichever political party (or football team) the former finance minister chooses to back seems to end up losing.
The critics were no less vehement on Tengku Zafrul’s very own X feed where he recounted watching the Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal with Selangor PKR Youth chief Muhammad Iman Haziq.
Amid the noisy and tense atmosphere of the game, the former Kota Raja UMNO division head noted the beautiful game’s ability to bring people from all walks of life together even if they were supporters of rival teams.
He even consoled Arsenal fans with “there’s always next season” hope even though the University of Bristol alumni did declare “neutral” status prior to the game kicking off but was “converted to Arsenal’s cause” after the game.
This was when a Gunner’s fan who was still reeling from the cup final defeat decided to vent his spleen at the politician’s populist “lalang berhaviour”.
Obviously, the former was unimpressed that Tengku Zafrul decided to show up in the colours of the North London giants when he had previously pinned his loyalties on the red half of Merseyside.
The sentiment that this politician treated his football allegiances the same way he treated his political parties was also evident here with various commenters thumbing their noses at this seemingly casual fandom.
Political allegiances may be swapped and shed. It is after all a person’s democratic right. Not so with football loyalties.
Till death is the usual byword. Treating it any other way will create the wrong impression and most certainly invite opprobrium that may spill over onto other spheres of life.
Perhaps the sentiment is best summed up by one commenter who noted “you can’t put politics and loyalty in the same sentence”.
- focus malaysia
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