A Malaysian national team hockey player will now have to face the music after she was found to have made a racist remark against the local Indian community during the recent sell-out AR Rahman concert that was held late last month on January 28th, 2023.
Malaysian national hockey player suspended over racist remark
Quoting a statement issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports released yesterday (February 9th, 2023), local newspaper Malay Mail reports that a joint investigation carried out by both the National Sports Council (MSN) and Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has found Hanis Nadiah Onn guilty of making a racist remark directed at AR Rahman concert attendees, a majority of which are ethnic Indians.
She was further found guilty of violating the Malaysian Hockey Foundation’s code of ethics in making comments that can be misunderstood or lead to misunderstandings, annoyance, or anger with other parties.
This would also mean that she will be barred from participating in the upcoming 2023 SEA Games held in Cambodia in May of this year.
“Accordingly, the Investigation Committee decided for the MHF not to consider Hanis from representing the national hockey team in any international assignment including the Cambodia SEA Games 2023.” they said.
However, they may consider re-evaluating their decision if Hanis shows indication of a positive change to her behaviour during this period.
Commented on the ‘smell’ of AR Rahman concert venue
The investigation comes after Hanis allegedly uploaded a comment in response to a local news outlet’s report on the concert about the ‘smell’ of the venue, alluding to an erronous and harmful stereotype attached to the local Indian community regarding body odour.
“The smell must have been best in there!” she wrote.
While the comment was deleted, a screenshot of it was shared to the r/Malaysia Reddit thread and quickly drew flak from social media users across the country. In the wake of the backlash, she would later issue an apology.
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