YOUTH and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is no stranger to criticisms from her links to Asia Mobility Technologies to the controversial Paris Olympic attire.
Therefore, it came as no surprise when the minister received another session of brickbats for her Instagram post by being chummy with Thai men’ singles shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
The combination of the Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister and a Thai player who broke the Malaysian badminton dream is certainly a recipe for disaster.
Yeoh’s fan girl comment, “I enjoy his style of badminton so much. So calm and collected. He has a new fan in me!” certainly didn’t help either.
According to Malaysiakini in a tweet, Hannah defended her actions by citing the Olympic values.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has responded to those who criticised her for raining praise on Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who defeated Malaysian ace Lee Zii Jia in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics 2024.
The DAP lawmaker cited the “Olympic values” which… pic.twitter.com/Gppn0lgM1F
— malaysiakini.com (@malaysiakini) August 8, 2024
Being one of the most popular sporting disciplines in Malaysia, badminton has a rich history here, producing many skilled players capable of competing in the international arena.
Likely, Yeoh might not have drawn so much criticism if she had taken a photo with an athlete from a different sport. So far, the Segambut MP has yet to take down her controversial Instagram post.
Like her Instagram post when one netizen asked if the Indian Sports Minister had posed for a photo Lee Zii Jia for his victory over Laksyha Sen in the bronze medal play-off, the tweet by Malaysiakini showed a similar atmosphere.
Nevertheless, a netizen stood firm with Yeoh, alluding to the fact that politics could be detrimental to the progress of sports development in the country. Moreover, it will be a tall order to expect the DAP lawmaker to improve the national sports scene during her five-year tenure.
Whatever said and done, it is hoped that our Youth and Sports Minister does not add another notch of PR (public relations) disaster under her belt considering the many notches already there. But criticisms are after all part and parcel of being a politician. – Aug 9, 2024
Main photo credit: theborneopost
