KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has joined the chorus of condemnation towards a racially-charged remark allegedly made by a social media user against national shuttler S. Kisona following the latter’s exit from the Sudirman Cup.
A statement issued by BAM criticised the remark supposedly made on social media by a user named Borhan Che Rahim, who associated racially derogatory terms with Kisona following her elimination from the international tournament held in Finland.
“The BAM is utterly appalled by the racist remarks made towards our national women’s singles player, S. Kisona.
“As the governing body of the sport in the country, BAM has zero-tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination thus we absolutely condemn the remarks, and we will always stand up for our players.
“Such a dreadful remark is uncalled for, and we urge all Malaysians to condemn this senseless act,” the association said.
It said BAM will continue to fight for the eradication of racism in sports, especially within the sport of badminton.
“We will continue to uphold all initiatives that support progressive and inclusive nation-building,” it added.
Others who have condemned the remarks include Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who said such things being said was unacceptable and not in line with the government’s tagline of Keluarga Malaysia.
The remarks made on social media against Kisona was accompanied by a picture of her in action during her semi-final match, where Malaysia eventually lost 1-3 to Japan, failing to advance to today’s final.
