The Sinister Trend Beneath The Kisona Case

Tearful Kisona admits racist slur affected her morale, performance



NATIONAL women’s singles shuttler S Kisona has admitted that the insensitive racist comment made against her on social media during the recent Sudirman Cup competition affected her psychology and eventually her performance.

However, the 23-year-old Seremban born is determined to put that incident behind her and focus on the Uber Cup opening round match against hosts Denmark today as she will take on the role of first singles for Malaysia.

“Obviously (it affected me) because, in the end, I am human too… Somehow, I need to shift my focus to my coming match. So, I’ll leave it to my family, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and the relevant authorities to resolve the issue,” she said after the team’s second official training session at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus.

Asked regarding the same issue by another media moments later, Kisona burst into tears.

Meanwhile, talking about the match tomorrow, when she is likely to take on world number 12 Mia Blichfeldt, world number 53 Kisona said she and her teammates are ready to fight till the end despite having to face higher-ranked opponents.

“This will be my second Uber Cup campaign after the 2018 Bangkok edition, so far I am comfortable with the venue and the weather (despite it dipping below 10 degrees Celcius at times). Of course, I want to play better than I did at the Sudirman Cup and I don’t want to play down my chances although my opponent is better.

“I feel that our Uber Cup squad have our own strengths, we just lack experience. We will give it our best and fight for victory. We are not here to lose,” she said.

Isolated case

The racist comment against Kisona on social media was made by a politician after her tame defeat by world number five Akane Yamaguchi during the Malaysia-Japan Sudirman Cup semi-final clash on Oct 2 in Finland.

Pasir Puteh Bersatu vice-chief Borhanudin Che Rahim has since apologised for using a racial slur against her.

Meanwhile, BAM coaching director Wong Choong Hann said that the association, Kisona’s teammates and the whole nation are behind her and will continue to provide her with moral support.

“I believe there will always be unfortunate incidents like this in everyone’s life but I believe Kisona, as a professional athlete, can overcome it and learn from it,” he said.

BAM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the case was very much an isolated one because, in general, Malaysians appreciate the sacrifices and contributions of national athletes for the country.

Mohamad Norza Zakaria

“I think sensitive and racial issues like this should never happen at all in our country’s sports under the concept of Malaysian Family. We should be more appreciative of their efforts as they continue to boldly face challenges despite playing in the midst of the COVID-19. – Oct 9, 2021

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Racist slur on Kisona an isolated case? “Is Norza living in a cave?”



SEVERAL non-governmental associations (NGO) criticised Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria for saying that the racist slur levelled against Malaysian badminton star S Kisona was an isolated incident.

“Isolated case? Norza must have been living in a cave for decades. Racist attacks against non-Malays and non-Muslims have been escalating at a worrying level.

“In schools itself, derogatory words such as pariah and keling were thrown around against Indians. If you had noticed, the words penumpang and pendatang is making a comeback.

“Even our politicians are using it indiscriminately these days and Norza has the gall to call it an isolated case,” Global Human Rights Federation president S Shashikumar told FocusM.

Earlier today, Bernama reported Kisona as saying that the racist slur levelled against her by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia leader Borhanudin Che Rahim had affected her psychology and performance.

“Obviously (it affected me) because, in the end, I am human too… Somehow, I need to shift my focus to my coming match. So, I’ll leave it to my family, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and the relevant authorities to resolve the issue,” she was reported saying.

Norza had claimed that the case was an isolated one because, in general, Malaysians appreciate the sacrifices and contributions of national athletes for the country.

“I think sensitive and racial issues like this should never happen at all in our country’s sports under the concept of Malaysian Family. We should be more appreciative of their efforts as they continue to boldly face challenges despite playing in the midst of COVID-19,” he was reported saying.

However, Shashikumar was not buying into Norza’s argument and said that racist attacks against the badminton star was a symptom of larger problem which should not be brushed aside lightly.

“Racism is at its peak now and people are being blunt about it without any remorse. Just go and check the social media and see for yourself.

“And due to the authorities’ lackadaisical attitude in stemming the problem, racist talks have been ‘normalised’,” he added.

Shashikumar recalled an incident in 2019, where an Umno leader had insinuated that the holy ash smeared on a DAP MP’s forehead as cremains of former Communist Party of Malaya leader, Chin Peng.

Baljit Singh (Gerakan) slams Tajuddin over ashes on Rayer's forehead remark

“And this matter was recorded and reported across all media. So, you see, even our leaders have no issues making racist attacks and we wonder why this problem is becoming a nightmare.

“Let me ask this. If a non-Malay or non-Muslim had uttered such words against the majority community, do you think we will be let go by just offering an apology and paying a fine?” he queried.

Shashikumar was referring to UMNO MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who back in Dec 3, 2019, had asked Jelutong MP RSN Rayer whether the ashes smeared on his head was cremains of Chin Peng.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Seri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof suspended Tajuddin for two days for the remark but the UMNO leader laughed it off and even asked the former to suspend him for four days as he needed to attend the UMNO general assembly.

On that note, Shashikumar poured scorn on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) for failing to address rising racial and religious intolerance in the country despite having powers to do so.

“One of their functions is to establish an institute to educate the masses on human rights but are they doing that?

“With an allocation of RM10 mil annually, they can use it to raise awareness of human rights in schools and universities but nothing is being done,” he lamented.

Address racism now!

On related matter, Malaysian Indian Voice (MIV) urged the Government not to trivialise racial and religious attacks as it has become more rampant in recent years.

“If you don’t nip the problem in the bud, Malaysia is going to have serious problems in the future,” its chairman V Pappa Raidu told FocusM.

He also bemoaned that political leaders were also playing the race card to the hilt, without any regard to the damage it would be causing to country’s social fabric.

“Stop sweeping things under the carpet and solve problems now before it becomes too late,” Pappa Raidu remarked. – Oct 9, 2021

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Who brought and stamped the divisions on the people? It is certainly due to leaders like Dr Mahathir and others. Of all the past prime ministers of the country, Dr Mahathir was the most racist and divisive leader.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remarks on how the Malays were forced to accept orang asing (foreigners) during British rule in exchange for independence is downright insulting and unbecoming of a prime minister who represents all Malaysians, said DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh.

Ramkarpal was referring to the prime minister's speech at the Malay Dignity Congress, where Mahathir said:

“... Orang asing berasa selesa dengan negara kita dan mereka ingin tinggal di sini. Nak tak nak pun, kita terpaksa terima, kalau tidak kita tidak akan mencapai kemerdekaan.”

(Translation of above: The foreigners felt comfortable in this country and wanted to stay. Like it or not, we were forced to accept or we would not have achieved independence)

Mahathir's "orang asing" or "foreigners" refer to non-Malay Malaysian citizens (to wit, Chinese and Indian Malaysians)

The strange thing about him is the fact that he forgets the past – deliberately or not – by putting the blame on the people for not wanting to assimilate.