The question for today's essay reminded me once again to write a blog post regarding the entire issue of Singapore versus Malaysia, something which I keep forgetting to do time and time again. So here it is!
Singapore made an unexpected victory against Malaysia in the World Cup Qualifiers recently, with a score of 6-4. However, this unexpected win has also given rise to many citizens in Malaysia displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour during and after the match itself. Seeing that Singapore had won, Malaysian citizens became upset and started flaming Singapore in order to release their anger. Some netizens even defaced the Singapore flag by drawing on it and writing the word "Loser" on the flag before posting the picture online. Singaporeans, yearning to protect their country, started flaming Malaysia as well. During the match itself, both Malaysian and Singaporean spectators were caught shining lasers at the football players and throwing cups into the field to distract the teams.
In my opinion, I believe that Malaysian spectators should not have started this flaming campaign which gave rise to both sides of the causeway flaming each other. Although it was an unexpected loss for Malaysia, they had no right to be angry to the point that they insult Singapore by drawing on our flag. The flag of one's country represents one's pride and glory and defacing a country's flag is the worst you can do to insult the country. Football is just a sport and no matter the result, whether win or lose, not only the athletes but also the spectators and citizens of the country must respect the outcome of the game and show sportsmanlike behaviour. Whatever happened in the game, remains in the game and in the sporting arena. We should not drag the issue out of its context and blow it up by blaming one another.
However, to be fair, we cannot blame Malaysia entirely for this issue. Singapore also had a part to play in it. Although Malaysian citizens were heavily criticising the Singapore team, Singaporeans should not have responded. Their response only worsened the situation and gave the Malaysian netizens a reason to respond and continue flaming Singapore. If Singaporeans had not said a thing, the Malaysians would have stopped their actions eventually. Unfortunately, this was not the case and it resulted in the worsening of the situation.
Fortunately, the governments on both sides are taking steps and actions to solve this issue as soon as possible. I believe that the reason for this issue to occur is the fault of both countries. On one hand, we have Malaysians not exhibiting sportsmanlike behaviour and on the other, we have Singaporeans who are stubborn enough to spark off even more quarrels. Whatever it is, I hope that the issue would be solved soon and that both countries would not have similar quarrels over a mere sports game in the future. What's the point of sports if the spirit and essence of it isn't there?
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