August 31, 2019, 04:30 AM
Lee Chong Wei, retired Malaysian badminton prodigy and former world number one for 349 consecutive weeks, has written the ultimate multilingual Merdeka Day message to celebrate Malaysia's National Day on Aug. 31.
Lee's post, in English, Malay, and Chinese, appeared on Aug. 30, one day before Hari Merdeka.It was an embrace of the oft colourful, dramatic and raucous nature of multi-ethnic Malaysia, and a nod to strength in diversity -- a tribute to people as much as it is a tribute to the country that has allowed him to develop his talent and succeed.
In his post, Lee reminisced the past as he credited his miraculous 2006 Malaysia Open final win over arch rival Lin Dan to the unwavering support shown by Malaysians of all ethnicities, who cheered him on even when he was down seven points.
Lee eventually overturned the deficit.
Looking past differences
The bigger point Lee was trying to make was that Malaysians have time and again been down and divided, with differences instigated by provocateurs and agitators.
But by coming together and pulling through as one, Malaysians can do great as a whole -- just like how he pulled off his victory against Lin in 2006 with the rallying cry of a diverse mix of people behind him.
That finals has since gone down as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of badminton and sealed Lee's status as one of the greatest shuttlers of his generation.
Forced to retire
Life, as always, has bigger plans.
The 36-year-old Lee has been forced into retirement after he was diagnosed with nose cancer.
He will not be participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
An Olympic gold medal has eluded the Malaysian.
He has three Olympic silver medals to his name.
For the uninitiated, Merdeka Day is to commemorate the day in which Malaysia’s predecessor, the Federation of Malaya, gained its independence from British colonial rule.
Here is the portion of Lee's post in a colloquial mix of English and Malay:
Hi all, Salam sejahtera semua.
Recently I have not frequented the social media as often as I used to. Sebab sakit hati I baca content that pops up. Friends and fans shooting vulgarities at each other, all due to some very petty issues. It is not the Malaysia I fought for.
When I met Lin Dan during the 2006 Malaysian Open final, I thought I would lose when I trailed at 13-20. It was impossible. Against the most talented man with a 7 point match point deficit, I was already thinking about what to eat for dinner.
I was tired and dejected. I looked up to the crowd. Their vociferous support never wavered. Then I saw a Malay girl, maybe around 8ish years old putting both hands together with her eyes closed. She was praying for me.
The other side of the stadium I saw an Indian gal, crying. I dunno if she crying for me, but I assumed she was.
Then another corner, my friend’s Son; a ten year old Chinese boy was shouting my name so loud that the umpire had to gaze that corner hinting him to lower down his voice.
I knew I couldn’t give up. The whole Malaysia prayed for me to win. A Malaysia consisting of kawan, ah ne, and Heng Dai. A colourful Malaysia. A Malaysia where I eat Roti Canai for breakfast, Nasi Lemak for lunch and Char Koey Tiao for dinner.
We Malaysians are better than these, my friends.
5 years ago, there was a hilarious report from a someone who said Malaysian Chinese would support Lin Dan it was a Lin Dan- Misbun fight. First and foremost, who are u to say these when faith and loyalty shouldn’t be your forte . Second of all, as a Malaysian who know these two players, of course I support Misbun. Misbun is my countryman, Lin Dan is not. Misbun won, my country happy, everyone happy, maybe got cuti. If Lin Dan won, ape gua dapat?
We Malaysians lepak sekali, mamak sekali, look after one another tak kira kaum. We cheer for our country Malaysia. Are we going to stop all these because of one random voice from the building?
Don’t let petty issues like Dong Zong Nor Khat tear us apart,
Don’t let minor people spreading racial hate beat us,
Don’t let insentive people pull our nose out of our sanity,
Don’t let the anasir jahat (from the Chinese , Indians and Malays) defeat our country, our people.
Malaysians are much much bigger than these. Tunjukkan kita jauh lagi teguh dari semua nonsense ini. Spread love not hate!
I want my sons and grandchildren to have their Malay and Indian friends. I want them to feel safe in Malaysia. I want them to fight for the flag, like how I did for u guys in the last decade.
When Malaysia won the Thomas Cup in 1992, Punch Gunalan was the team manager, Razif was the Captain, Rashid was the most talented, Kok Keong was the fighter and Beng Kiang delivered the winning smash. It was a beautiful Malaysia, multiracial. Don’t kill it .
Happy birthday soon, Tanah tumpahnya darah ku. Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara.
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