The population of Malays in Singapore continues to dwindle as they are already the minority and often seen as economically irrelevant in the republic.
Some view them as the first line of defence against foreign attacks but when it comes to football, the Malays in Singapore are celebrated. The sport makes them relevant.
However, Malaysia kicked Singapore out of the domestic football scene.
(Singapore was booted out from the Malaysian league in 1994 following a spat over gate collections and match-fixing. In 2012, the LionsXII played in the M-League but the partnership with the FA of Malaysia ended in 2015).
We abandoned them and it is no secret that the S-League is nothing short of a wicked joke.
Why on earth did we kick the Lions out of our league? Did the FA of Malaysia (FAM) ever provide a solid justification for the decision?
We knew of the hatred fuelled by some fans back then. We are also fully aware that our fans would regularly face all sorts of complications when crossing the causeway. And at the stadium, the Malaysian fans would either be restricted or their entry delayed.
But let’s take a look at ourselves. Our fans haven’t been completely pink and lovely either. When referees make bad decisions, all hell breaks loose. Some construe the civil disobedience displayed within the stands as an act of protest against poor refereeing and FAM.
The act of hurling flares onto the pitch makes fans look like terrorists. And no thanks to the uneducated actions of the handful, the 90 per cent of peace loving supporters will be labelled as “terrorists”.
I do not believe that we should deliberately kill friendships and connections. There are better and mature ways to deal with any form of ill-treatment towards the fans and the same goes with our relationship with Singapore.
I believe the act of kicking the Lions out of the M-League was sheer propaganda. FAM has been going through a constant crisis of legitimacy. The officials have been constantly challenged. Kicking out the Singaporeans was an obvious attempt to regain legitimacy and be in the good books of the fans.
It was a public relations manoeuvre to remedy FAM’s dying authority.
Many would say the most important feature in Malaysian football is the fans. To me, that’s not very accurate. An important feature is actually watching the Lions play in the M-League, and perhaps witnessing them lose a match or two.
We are now deprived from an entertaining aspect of Malaysian football that has been part of our history since Singapore won the inaugural Malaya Cup in 1921.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
