Our Sportsmanship Continues to Shame

A Kadir Jasin

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SINCE the Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) is still in the pause mode in as far as criticising and advising the Prime Minister, let me once again touch on Malaysian sports.

Logically, Malaysia should be the one sending athletes to the Sochi Winter Olympic in Russia and not Tonga. Malaysia has a population of 28 million and Tonga 106, 146 in 2011.

 We may not have snow but we have several ice skating rinks and artificial snowfields. Also thousands of Malaysians go on winter holidays each year and many take up ice sports.

Alas, we are defeated yet again in the world of sports, and this time by the tiny Tonga. The island kingdom in the South Pacific is sending an athlete to the game to compete in luge.

A luge racer in action

The French news agency AFP reported from Wellington, New Zeland, that Tonga's Bruno Banani aka Fuahea Semi has qualified as the Pacific nation's first ever winter Olympian - an achievement every bit as remarkable as Jamaica's famous bobsled team.

The report says, Banani, who hails from a tropical archipelago famed for its sunshine and white sandy beaches, will head for the frigid Russian resort next year after finishing 28th out of 42 starters at a World Cup meet in Park City, Utah, comfortably making the top 38 cut-off needed to qualify, the FIL said. (Read more here).

Banani of Tonga Makes History

Then again why should we care about an obscure game like luge when we continue to do badly in games that we are supposed to be good at like sepak takraw, badminton and hocky.

But I am sure our creative and innovative sport officials will try to muzzle their way to Sochi if they can get some poor suckers to pay for it.

By the way, I was told by a senior member of the PMO’s Communication Advisory Group (CAG) that the PM is not going to Sydney or Las Vegas on the new year’s day as rumoured. That’s what she said. We have to wait and see.

And for all of us on this blog, let us start the New Year by being more magnanimous, less partisan, more bipartisan, less personal and most importantly no swear words.