KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Malaysia's success in reaching the final of the 2024 Merdeka Tournament does not guarantee the return of the national football team’s passionate supporters, Ultras Malaya, to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sunday.
Sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli believes that the hardcore supporter group is likely to stick firmly to their stance and motives for boycotting the tournament.
“In my opinion, and that of supporters who respect the boycott cause, they will likely lose faith in the sustainability, direction and sincerity of this struggle if they were to withdraw their boycott just because Harimau Malaya has reached the finals of the Pestabola Merdeka.
“So, whether it is appropriate for these supporters to return to the National Stadium for the final depends on how strong the principles of their boycott are, its direction, and the duration of the boycott,” he told Bernama today.
He was asked whether it would be reasonable to end the boycott to support the national team, which will face Lebanon in the final after defeating the Philippines 2-1 in the semi-finals at the National Stadium last night.
The Ultras Malaya boycott stemmed from dissatisfaction with various issues, including management of the national team, alleged mismanagement in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), and Malaysian League matches.
For the record, Ultras Malaya previously boycotted the final match of the men’s football event at the Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games as a show of solidarity with supporters who were victims of the ticketing system failure for the final.
However, Pekan believes that the National Stadium will unlikely to be empty in Sunday's final.
“Because even if the supporters group (Ultras Malaya) are not there, they only contribute about 10 to 20 per cent of the stadium's actual capacity. So there will still be plenty of space for other supporters to fill,” he said.
At the same time, Pekan personally believes that the boycott should have its dimensions and duration until the motives of the boycott are achieved as intended.
Fellow sports analyst, Mohd Sadek Mustafa said it is now up to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to take necessary steps to ensure that the 12th player of the Harimau Malaya squad do not remain discontented.
He said a match would seem to lack excitement without the presence of Ultras Malaya, who are capable of driving the team’s victory through their energetic support throughout the 90 minutes of play.
In this regard, Mohd Sadek said FAM cannot overlook the importance of having local football fans’ support.
“In my observation, the impact will be similar (at the final), but the presence of neutral supporters might be around 10,000 to 15,000. However, on social media, they are still inclined to boycott to teach the current FAM management a lesson.
“Past history has shown that Malaysians are serious about what they say (boycott), as demonstrated by the boycott of Israeli products due to the Palestinian issue, which caused losses,” he told Bernama.
Malaysia has won the Merdeka Tournament 12 times, with the last victory being the 2013 edition. — Bernama
