KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) — National badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei has urged all Malaysians to spread love and not kill beautiful multiracial Malaysia with some very petty issues.
The 36-year-old called on Malaysians to look back on the historic moment when the national badminton squad led by Datuk Razif Sidek won the 1992 Thomas Cup.
The team brought the entire nation together with its 3-2 victory over Indonesia in the final battle at the Stadium Negara, with the people in every Kopitiam, mamak shop and household across Malaysia celebrating the victory.
“When Malaysia won the Thomas Cup in 1992, Punch Gunalan was the team manager, Razif was the captain, Rashid (Sidek) was the most talented, (Foo) Kok Keong was the fighter and (Soo) Beng Kiang delivered the winning smash.
“It was a beautiful Malaysia, multiracial. Don’t kill it,” he said in his latest Facebook entry in conjunction with National Day 2019 tomorrow.
The former world number one, who decided to hang up his racquet on June 13, noted that he is not involved in the social media as often as he used to be because of not feeling happy with the content that pops up nowadays.
He said Malaysians should not let petty issues or the minority which spreads racial hatred to defeat our country.
“We Malaysians lepak sekali, mamak sekali (play together, eat together), look after one another tak kira kaum (regardless of race). We cheer for our country Malaysia. Are we going to stop all these because of one random voice from the building?
“Malaysians are much much bigger than these. Tunjukkan kita jauh lagi teguh dari semua nonsense ini (Show that we are way above all this nonsense). Spread love, not hate!” he said.
He recalled the 2006 Malaysia Open when he met Lin Dan (of China) in the final and was trailing 13-20, and almost gave up and was thinking about what to eat for dinner.
Chong Wei admitted that he was tired and dejected at that time but when he looked up to the crowd he realised that Malaysians were praying for him to win and that rejuvenated him to fight back.
“I looked up to the crowd. Their vociferous support never wavered. Then I saw a Malay girl, maybe around eight years old, putting both hands together with her eyes closed. She was praying for me. On the other side of the stadium, I saw an Indian gal, crying. I did not know if she was crying for me, but I assumed she was.
“Then in another corner, my friend’s son, a 10-year-old Chinese boy, was shouting my name so loudly that the umpire had to gaze at that corner, hinting to him to lower his voice.
“I knew I couldn’t give up. The whole of Malaysia prayed for me to win. A Malaysia consisting of kawan, ah ne, and Heng Dai. A colourful Malaysia. A Malaysia where I eat roti canai for breakfast, nasi lemak for lunch and char kuey tiao for dinner,” he said.
Chong Wei pulled off an amazing comeback to stun the world number one to win his third consecutive Malaysian Open men’s singles title at the Perpaduan Stadium in Kuching.
Despite being on the verge of defeat at 13-20 in the rubber game, Chong Wei, who was 24 then, clawed back to win 21-18, 18-21, 23-21 in a pulsating 70-minute encounter.
“I want my sons and grandchildren to have their Malay and Indian friends. I want them to feel safe in Malaysia. I want them to fight for the flag, like how I did for you guys in the last decade.
“Happy birthday soon, Tanah tumpahnya darah ku (The land for which I will give my blood). Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara (Loyalty to King and Country),” he said.
–NNN-BERNAMA