OPPOSITION-slant social media influencer Solisidtor (@Solisidtor) has been taught a good lesson on the true value of solidarity by netizens who reminded him that the country should learn to separate politics from sports.
At this very moment, sports seem to be the only institution that unite Malaysians while enabling national reconciliation amid polarisation by political divide with politicians and their staunch backers being prone of playing racial and religious cards.
“Indonesia has won gold. The Philippines has won the gold. Thailand has won the gold. Singapore has won the gold. Vietnam has won the gold,” lamented Solisidtor on the X platform as he trained his gun on Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for his perceived Malaysia’s under-performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Indonesia dah menang emas.
Filipina dah menang emas.
Thailand dah menang emas.
Singapura dah menang emas.
Vietnam dah menang emas.
Menteri Malaysia masih boleh happy2 jadi fangirl atlet negara lain.
RIP Malaysia sports.
— Solisidtor (@Solisidtor) August 8, 2024
“Malaysian minister can still be happy to be fangirl of athletes from other countries. RIP Malaysian sports.”
When slammed for his tendency to politicise everything, Solisidtor defended his stance by alluding to the fact that it is “political decisions that ultimately determine the performance of Malaysian athletes on the international stage!”
When reminded that all hopes are not lost yet for Malaysia can spiring a surprise in the cycling keirin competition which starts today (Aug 10) – and realistically Malaysia’s last chance to add to its two bronze medals count – the pro-Perikatan Nasional (PN) backer apologised for his over-zealousness to see Malaysia bags its maiden gold medal.
This aside, some netizens are wondering if a regime change in Malaysia can assure the country a gold medal at the Olympics.
Another reaction was whether Malaysia had won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics during the tenure of eight premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is currently the Bersatu president and PN chairman.
A netizen opined that the statement by Solisidtor would not hurt ministers “who come and go” but it does insult national athletes who have sacrificed greatly yet “getting belittled for failing to bring home a medal”.
As one netizen aptly summed up, the gold conquest is a formidable task even with the best sporting facilities and programmes in place. Simply put it, there is no guarantee that even the world’s best athletes can end up being a gold medallist despite having given their best shot. – Aug 10, 2024
Main image credit: Hannah Yeoh/Facebook
