When race gets in the way of our race to glory

 

Sports, it is said, is the great unifier. It brings people together and makes them friends forever. Race, religion and colour are of no consequence; what really matters is ability and skills.

But is it, really?

A school in Johor has seen it fit to assign certain sports to certain races. Apparently, only Malays can play football, hockey and sepaktakraw and only Chinese can play basketball and table-tennis.

I have no idea where the Indians fit in. Maybe in badminton or petanque – yes petanque – which were open to all.

It’s a good thing that the deputy education minister and the sports minister have shot down the idea. Even the Tengku Mahkota of Johor has entered the arena, with a stern warning that these things should not happen.

The only problem is: these things do happen – again and again.

What happened in that Johor school was a manifestation of a much bigger problem – racial segregation in Malaysia as a whole.

We shout “sports for all” and yet believe that certain races are good in a certain sport. That’s a whole lot of hogwash.

Lee Chong Wei may have been the best shuttler in recent memory, but Misbun Sidek was his sifu. And the last time we won the Thomas Cup, it was Punch Gunalan who lifted the trophy.

Still, the myth is perpetuated.

Tan Cheng Hoe is the national football coach but just take a look at his team now preparing for the World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain next month.

Brendan Gan sticks out like a sore thumb, the only Chinese in the first team. London-born La’vere Corbin-Ong and Australian-born Matthew Davies do not count while S. Kumahraan and Darren Lok are mere peripherals.

How about the national hockey team? The tri-nations meet is now going on in Kuala Lumpur and the only non-Malay in sight is coach Arul Selvaraj.

Why aren’t we able to produce a new Soh Chin Aun, Wong Choon Wah or M Chandran in Malaysian football?

Or a Poon Fook Loke, Chua Boon Huat, M Mahendran or Sri Shanmuganathan in hockey? What happened to the Seranis – with names like Sta Maria, Nunis and Fidelis – or worse, the Singhs who were once the mainstay of Malaysian hockey?

Have they all given up on football and hockey? Or is there something wrong with our selection process?

Having been a sports journalist for almost two decades, I have heard many complaints about race-based favouritism in sports; of selection trials which were nothing but an eyewash.

Teams are pre-selected and those aspirants who want to break into the team are given 10 minutes on the field, during which no one passes the ball to them.

Then, they are told to go home and wait for the call that never comes.

It is not just about one race, either. Who says non-Chinese cannot play basketball or table-tennis?

K Satyaseelan was probably the best three-point shooter the country has produced and he was even national captain back in 2007. He is a distant memory now.

And how many people know of Mohd Shakirin Ibrahim who represented Malaysia in the world team table tennis championships in 2016? The team was led by the then national champion whose name is: Mohamed Haiqal Ashraf.

Haiqal remains the second-best player in the country although Shakirin is out of contention.

The point is: Everyone is capable of excelling no matter what his racial background. All it takes is acceptance and a fair chance.

Yet, there are those like the headmaster of that Johor school who will deny athletes this chance. Let’s be very clear on one thing – that headmaster is not alone. There are many like him.

It is actually a reflection of the endemic racism in our midst. Malaysia, as a whole, needs a paradigm shift – and better politicians.

Many football teams, even those in the Malaysian football league, are led by politicians who have no qualms about setting racial quotas for their teams.

These state FA leaders have been known to give orders that only a certain number of players from a certain race can be on the field at any one time.

A coach who defies this order can be sacked, even if he brings home the title.

The fans, too, are no angels, having been brainwashed by race-based Malaysian politics.

We saw it all laid bare by Selangor coach B Sathianathan recently when he came in for some nasty racist slurs. His crime? He had fielded “too many” Indians in a match.

It’s no surprise then that most non-Malays prefer to shy away from team sports where they are at the mercy of selectors. Instead, they switch to individual sports like badminton and squash.

In these sports, if you win, no one can deny you your place in the team.

The men’s squash team, for one, has Ng Eain Yow and Ivan Yuen alongside Mohd Syafiq Kamal while the women’s team has Low Wee Wern and S Sivasangari along with Aifa Azman.

Let’s not forget world beaters like Nicol David and Ong Beng Hee. They all made for a good mix.

In badminton, there is Lee Zii Jia, Cheam Jun Wei, Goh Jin Wei, Pearly Tan, S Kisona and M Thinaah with back-up players like Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Muhammad Shaqeem Shahyar.

It’s a truly Malaysian line-up.

It is indeed time to take heed of the Johor crown prince’s words – that schools must be a place to encourage unity, not division.

In fact, we should take it a little further and ensure that sports – at all levels – is about unity and meritocracy, never about race and favouritism.

And we need real action, not just lip service. It would be good to start with the schools – by changing the mindsets of teachers and headmasters. - FMT

K Sathyaseelan in basketball, Brendan Gan in football and Mohamed Haiqal Ashraf in table-tennis are all proof that no one race can dominate any one sport.

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKTt.