It has been a week since Malaysia’s 15th General Election. It took some negotiating and extending of several olive branches, but we finally have a new prime minister – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Now that the storm has settled – at least until Parliament convenes on Dec 19 – it’s time to turn our attention to the World Cup.
While it is the ‘biggest tournament on earth’ and enthrals many football fans, there are those who are not concerned.
Perhaps the most damning statistic was that tickets for England’s matches were available two weeks before last Sunday’s kickoff.
Steve Darby, no stranger to Malaysian fans following his coaching stints at Johor, Perak, and Kelantan, said: “There was not much interest in the United Kingdom before the tournament kicked off. Most of the attention was on the English Premier League.”
He added that global inflation and the rising cost of living had forced many to re-examine their priorities.
“The World Cup is expensive – plane tickets, hotel rooms and match tickets,” said Darby.
“There were still tickets for sale for England’s first two games two weeks before the tournament started.
“They are usually snapped up the moment they go on sale.”
FIFA says tickets are sold out, even though there were rows and rows of empty seats on view.
Over in Malaysia, Michael Goh said he is waiting for the knockout stages before watching any matches.
“Although there have been some upsets, there have also been some one-sided games,” said the 25-year-old engineer.
“Sadly, my team, Italy, failed to qualify. That could be why I am not too excited, although the timing of the matches suits us in Asia.”
Manchester United fan, Olive Tan, said she is more interested in how her favourite team’s players perform, and prays they do not get injured.
Manchester United has 15 players in Qatar – it was 16, but the club and Cristiano Ronaldo have since parted ways.
The list of Red Devils in Qatar reads Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire (England), Casemiro, Fred, Alex Telles, Antony (Brazil), Raphael Varane (France), Hannibal (Tunisia), Facundo Pellistri (Uruguay), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Tyrell Malacia (Netherlands), and Lisandro Martinez (Argentina).
“I hope none get any injuries, as there is a good chance of United winning the Premier League this season,” said Tan.
The 37-year-old housewife added: “I feel Brazil will win it this year, as they have four United players in their squad. I missed their opening match as I did not bother getting up to watch it (at 3am).
“I cannot wait until the Premier League returns in December.”
UNWANTED MILESTONE ON THE HORIZON
Malaysia could reach five million Covid-19 cases next week after another 18,158 infections in the past week brought the total to 4,981,374.
For the third week running, there were more recoveries than new cases, with 18,910 patients cleared of the coronavirus.
That brought the number of recoveries to 4,917,827.
Sadly, another 56 patients lost their fight to Covid-19, meaning there were 36,644-Covid related deaths.
Worldwide, there are 645,542,241 cases, and 6,635,058 fatalities.
MALAYSIAN IN QATAR
Sashidaran Nair is having the time of his life in Qatar to watch the FIFA World Cup.
The KL Kopites president was supposed to attend the opening ceremony, but the tournament opened a day earlier to allow Qatar to kick off the tournament.
Nonetheless, he has witnessed several games during his stay, which ends tomorrow.
“The World Cup has been a thrilling experience,” said Sashidaran.
“I made sure people knew I was from Malaysia by bringing the Jalur Gemilang to matches.
“I also brought my Pakatan Harapan flag with me, as Anwar is prime minister of Malaysia.
“Hopefully, it is a new dawn for the country I love.”
SUBANG PARADE’S FOOTBALL FEVER
Subang Parade celebrates the FIFA World Cup with several family-oriented activities until Dec 11.
It includes a ‘shoot for glory’, a football juggling performance, a skills workshop, and 3-on-3 futsal competitions open to children in two categories – seven to nine, and 10-12.
The competition received an overwhelming response, with 24 teams in each category.
ORANGE HOT CHOCOLATE
Here is a rich and creamy hot chocolate recipe with zingy notes of orange and intensity from dark chocolate. Add an extra layer of luxury if you like, with a tot of spiced rum.
COMMON SENSE
To end this week’s Diary, here is John Prine with some advice for our politicians – that they need ‘Common Sense’ when making decisions.
Until next week, stay safe.
