Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is now the subject of fierce criticism after she posed for several photos with Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn while calling herself a new “fan” of his.
The online controversy was sparked following an Instagram post by Yeoh, who shared several photos of her standing next to Kunlavut and the silver medal he won at the men’s singles finals.
Hannah Yeoh slammed for saying she’s a ‘fan’ of Kunlavut
In the post, Yeoh started off by congratulating Kunlavut for winning silver following his loss to Denmark’s Victor Axelsen in the finals.
She then went on to say how impressed she was by his performance at the Olympics and how much she enjoyed his playing style.
So calm and collected. He has a new fan in me!” she gushed towards the end of the post.
Unfortunately, this didn’t sit well with netizens, who called the post “unpatriotic” and “insensitive” of a minister going all out to praise a shuttler who had beaten Lee Zii Jia in order to move into the finals.
‘Wow so insensitive. Is this what a Youth and Sports Minister should be? Not patriotic at all. This isn’t the time for you to show your cute side fangirling other players lah.’
‘That is so insensitive. You’re there as a minister to support & assist our athletes but now you’re proudly fangirling over our rival. He (Khunlavat) is a great player, but you should keep it to yourself first. Please be more sensitive to our athletes.’
On the other hand, some defended Hannah’s post, saying that she was simply displaying the spirit of sportsmanship and friendship, with one writing that “sports are supposed to building friendships and bridge differences”.
The uproar comes at the heels of Yeoh’s separate Instagram post regarding Lee Zii Jia, where she called upon Malaysians to celebrate the shuttler’s bronze medal win instead of criticising him for his tumultuous relationship with the national team and past performances.
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