It’s a tiring, gruelling, 24/7 operation. Yet, Mohd Nur Al-Falah Abdullah has zero complaints.
Fuelled by his passion in sports, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) media manager has no qualms engaging with badminton fans in the country and abroad, as he and his team of three, manage the national body’s social media accounts.
Twentytwo13 reached out to the main person who creates content and replies to postings on BAM’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts.
Nur Al-Falah, or Falah among his peers, shared how he dabbled in sports, and his memorable, and not so memorable moments, when engaging with passionate badminton fans across the globe.
So, who is Nur Al-Falah?
Falah: “I’m actually from Batu Pahat, Johor, and will turn 35 on Oct 19. I’m the eldest of four siblings.
I read Law in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and chambered. I practiced corporate law for a few months, only to take a leap of faith, as I was very passionate about sports.
I was an ardent follower of Goal.com, and when I found out that they were establishing Goal Malaysia, I told myself I had to take up the offer as editor.
The decision didn’t go down too well with my parents. They gave me an earful. My aunt, Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, is a High Court judge, and she has been a big influence on my life. She, too, gave me an earful (laughs).
But I stuck to my decision, and after leaving Goal.com, I served the FA of Malaysia, before joining BAM in 2017 as the media manager.”
What are your main tasks?
Falah: “When I joined, my role was to raise the profile of the sport and drive fan engagement. When I first started, it was just me, but today, there are the three of us in the team – Sabri Hassan (senior multimedia executive), Nabilah Mohd Zubir (media executive) and Ku Mohd Lutfi Ku Yahya (AV support).
We have a daily schedule. Nabilah and I share the responsibility of posting content and engaging with the fans. We set the tone and language, so that it remains uniform, despite there being two administrators managing the social media accounts.
It’s been a very steep learning curve for me and the team. Badminton fans are not only passionate, but very knowledgeable. Also, our shuttlers are treated like K-Pop stars. This was evident during the Badminton Asia Team Championships (held in Shah Alam, in February) where fans had waited outside the stadium in large numbers. The reaction the minute the players walked in, was electrifying. We did a vlog (video blog), a behind-the-scenes look of the team’s preparation, and the traction was really good.
I also deal with the press and media enquiries.”
What’s your most memorable moment while engaging with the fans?
Falah: “Gosh, plenty! One of them was when we ‘live’ streamed a Malaysian Open. We had fans, mainly from the Southeast Asian region, tuning in and commenting, and we were engaging with them. Along the way, they became more interested in talking with the admins than focusing on the matches. It was certainly entertaining.”
And your worst moment when handling the social media accounts?
Falah: “There have been several, but the one I will never forget is when our women’s doubles players, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, defeated Indonesian pair Ribka Sugiarto-Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma in the Malaysian International, in 2019. It was their first title together.
Fans of the Indonesian duo were pretty upset and claimed that several decisions were made against their favourite players. They attacked us online, and also attacked the players, too. It was ugly.”
What are your plans, moving forward?
Falah: “We will be expanding to TikTok. We are eager to engage with our fans. As mentioned earlier, the sport really has a huge and passionate following, and badminton has a huge potential to be further marketed. So, obviously there will be plans to capitalise on such a potential.”
Will the admins be on break for Hari Raya Aidilfitri?
Falah: “No. There’s no break for us. Raya or no Raya, the show must go on. We have got a content schedule planned, but we will still be engaging with the fans.
As most of my family members are now in the Klang Valley, Raya will pretty much be in Putrajaya. Looking at the heavy traffic on the highways, I’m happy we will be celebrating here (laughs).
The fans have been great. The team and I would like to thank them for their continuous support. I wish all of them a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!
