- 3 hours ago
BEHIND every Malaysian sporting triumph is a sea of passionate supporters cheering from the stands, waving the Jalur Gemilang and standing by our athletes through every victory and defeat.
But who are these dedicated volunteers and what does it take to rally behind our sporting heroes on the world stage?
In this episode of the Life & The City podcast, host Farid Wahab shines a spotlight on the enthusiasts of Malaysian sports with Famemas Malaysia Sports Supporters Club president Lee Hui Seng and Selangor Special Olympics Malaysia president David Foo.
Together, they explore the vital role supporters play in boosting athletes' morale, the effort that goes into organising cheering contingents for sporting events and why unwavering support matters just as much as winning medals.
The trio also discuss how Malaysia can cultivate a stronger sporting culture beyond major tournaments, the importance of recognising athletes from less-publicised sports and how individuals can help build a more inclusive and supportive sporting communities.
The Life & The City podcast series airs fortnightly, spotlighting issues that matter to urbanites.
Catch the full episode on www.youtube.com/@thestaronline/podcasts or www.thestar.com.my/metro
But who are these dedicated volunteers and what does it take to rally behind our sporting heroes on the world stage?
In this episode of the Life & The City podcast, host Farid Wahab shines a spotlight on the enthusiasts of Malaysian sports with Famemas Malaysia Sports Supporters Club president Lee Hui Seng and Selangor Special Olympics Malaysia president David Foo.
Together, they explore the vital role supporters play in boosting athletes' morale, the effort that goes into organising cheering contingents for sporting events and why unwavering support matters just as much as winning medals.
The trio also discuss how Malaysia can cultivate a stronger sporting culture beyond major tournaments, the importance of recognising athletes from less-publicised sports and how individuals can help build a more inclusive and supportive sporting communities.
The Life & The City podcast series airs fortnightly, spotlighting issues that matter to urbanites.
Catch the full episode on www.youtube.com/@thestaronline/podcasts or www.thestar.com.my/metro
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:04Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara. That's a line we've often heard when it comes to describing
00:09sporting events, sporting tournaments, and when we are asked to show support for our athletes.
00:14But what about those who stand behind the podiums, stand in the stands,
00:19holding up Jalur Gemilai and show support to our athletes? What about them?
00:23Welcome to another episode of Life in the City podcast. I'm your host, Farid Wahab.
00:27And today we're going to talk about the people, the supporters who go to stadium,
00:32hop from stadium to stadium to show support for our athletes. We have with us here today,
00:38Mr. Lee Huyseng, who is president of FEMAS Malaysia Sports Supporters Club, FEMAS for short.
00:45And we also have Mr. David Fu, who is president of Selangor Special Olympics Malaysia,
00:52a non-profit organization set up to identify and nurture athletes with intellectual and
00:57developmental disabilities. Thank you, Mr. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Fu, for coming and agreeing to join us today.
01:05Thank you for having us, Hugh. Thank you.
01:06So, I think we are now in a sports season. You know, we just had the World Cup concluded,
01:12and we have, I think, SUGMA coming up soon. So, it's a hot season for sports fans. And oftentimes,
01:19a lot of focus tends to go to our athletes. But I think a lot of people might not know
01:24so much
01:24about the supporters, right? When we watched sporting events on TV, we would see, oh, who are
01:30these people holding up Jalur Gemilai, you know, playing the drums. But you guys actually play quite a
01:35quite an important role, right? So, before we begin, I just want to start with you, Mr. Lee,
01:43if you don't mind, right? You are the president of FEMAS. Yes. So, maybe you can tell us a bit
01:48more about what is FEMAS and how did you guys begin? Oh, well, FEMAS, as the word F-A-M
01:55-E-M-A-S,
01:58is, we are the so-called, in short, FEMAS Malaysians. It means FEME and Malaysia. The two
02:08words combine, it becomes FEMAS. So, historically, we have been around since 2002, since the Busan
02:18Asian Games in Korea. And every year, we have various cheering programs where we support our
02:29national athletes, providing them with vocal and moral support at multi-sport events, either
02:37internationally or locally. So, those are the big events that we are the so-called organized
02:45cheer group. I think many other Southeast Asian countries may not have what we have in Malaysia.
02:52How did it, I mean, I already know this, but our listeners probably don't. Like, how did you guys
02:57start initially? Oh, it started when a sponsor came forward to send 100 supporters to Busan Asian Games.
03:09This was in 2003, right? This was in 2002. So, that was for a one-week period. Everything was
03:16fully sponsored. So, when we came back, some of these supporters decided to move on, you know, to
03:26continue the tradition of cheering for the country. Why let this one-week trip, you know, just die a
03:33natural there. So, then we gathered a few hardcore supporters and we met somewhere. And then we formed
03:39this association. You guys decided to band together and say, okay, we're going to keep doing this.
03:45Yeah, we decided to at least move on to the next event, which was the Vietnam Sea Games the following
03:52year, in 2003, in Ho Chi Minh City. But we had a smaller crowd. Yeah. About 40 times two, about
04:0380 of us.
04:04Mr. Fu, if I'm remembering correctly, you were also a member of, I mean, you still are a member, right,
04:10of FEMAS, right? Yeah. So, how did you remember that time?
04:13Oh, because initially, because this was started when Mr. Lee came to meet us, to discuss, and because
04:20I'm a sports enthusiasm. So, that's why when he gives the idea, then we say, okay, good, proceed
04:25with it. And that's why when the second trip, that's why we sent about 84 participants to support
04:33Malaysians in Vietnam. That is where we can see that the enthusiasm of the supporters, which give the
04:43motivation to the players, that they feel that they are at home, around to them, so that this is what
04:49you think that is supposed to keep on continuing with you. I actually want to tell our listeners
04:55that I actually had the pleasure of joining FEMAS during their recent trip to Sea Games in Bangkok
05:01in December. It was an eight-day trip, right, Mr. Lee? Yes. We hopped from venue to venue, you know.
05:07So, for someone like me, you know, I've never been to a major sporting tournament before, so it was a
05:11very eye-opening thing for me, because, you know, I was, like, standing shoulders to shoulders with
05:16the athletes. I feel like, oh my god, these are stars, you know. So, you know, you guys have been
05:21doing this for how many years now? 20, don't you? 23 years. 20 over years. Yeah. So, Mr. Lee, it
05:29sounds
05:29simple, you know. You're just, you guys are just holding up the Jalu Gemilang with the cheering
05:33sticks, you know, singing and playing the drums. It sounds simple, but is it really simple? What goes
05:38into organizing these sort of trips? Yeah, it sounds simple to the laymen, to the ordinary Malaysians
05:44out there, but the amount of preparation, the amount of work that is, that has gone into it to
05:51prepare, say, about 20, 30, or even 40 supporters to go to a foreign country is not easy, because
05:59there's a lot of logistics preparation. You have to worry about the flight accommodation,
06:04transportation, the transportation, and then also liaisons with our Olympic Council, our
06:13National Sports Association, our National Sports Council to formulate a specific schedule,
06:22a daily schedule from morning to afternoon to night, and to keep our members, our supporters
06:30busy the whole day, because we are not there for sexing or shopping or, you know, to jalan-jalan.
06:37We are there to really work for the country, to actually, we are like an organized group,
06:43to put it simply. Not just, you know, preparing a group of supporters and go from one stadium to
06:55another, based on hearsay. We have to be very organized. Our schedule is very fixed.
07:02If I remember correctly, I remember when we were in Bangkok, you did receive a number of calls from
07:10sports people, I don't know who, but they asked you to come and say, Mr. Lee, come and show us
07:14support.
07:14So how often does that happen? Okay, that is natural, because every time we go to any of these
07:21multi-sports events, because there are so many sports, like this kind of Southeast Asian games,
07:26sea games, where Malaysia has a really good chance to garner many gold medals, silver medals,
07:34and bronze medals. So every association, be it basketball, badminton,
07:40sepah patrol, they will have requests. They will request us. So when they request us to support
07:48the athletes, it will, of course, interfere with our original schedule. But we don't mind.
07:55We can always adjust. We adjust, we adjust. And then we found out that, okay, this is the most
08:01important, the event that we need to be there, because Malaysia has a truly great chance of
08:07winning a gold medal. Yeah, they'll be like, we might win this, come Mr. Lee. Yeah, they will say,
08:12okay, please come by 8 o'clock. So of course, we will brave the traffic jam. You know, Bangkok,
08:17how jammed it is, you know? Yeah. And we were there, you were there, you know, sometimes getting
08:21from one venue to another takes one hour. Yeah, and we often travel from 9am all the way up to
08:2610, 11, depending on what. So we start early. We start 7 o'clock, we have our
08:31breakfast. 8 o'clock, we are already on the road. So by 8.30, we are already in the
08:35stadium. And then we usually allocate two hours per session. Of course, you have to
08:42include the lunch, the lunch and the dinner, but and also the period that you're on the
08:48road. So it's a very, very, very tedious job. Yeah.
08:53Mr. Fu, you are the president of the Special Olympics, Special Olympics Malaysia, right?
09:01I think before we go deeper, I just want to clarify a bit, because earlier this year, I did a
09:06story about the training programs that the association does for its athletes. So I got
09:12a number of people asking me, what's the difference between Paralympics and Special Olympics? And I
09:17think it's quite, I mean, for me, even before I wrote the story, I didn't know the difference. So I
09:22feel
09:22like it's important that we clarify, right? So maybe you can tell us a bit, what's the difference
09:26is the Paralympics? And basically, a lot of people have a misunderstanding that because
09:31the word title OKU. So most of them, they categorize them as one group of OKU. So basically,
09:38Special Olympics and Paralympics are two different entities. Paralympics is more to physical disability.
09:46That's why you can see that the hand handicap or their leg or their eyes. Whereas Special Olympics
09:51is more to ID, intellectual disability. So that's why that they are totally different
09:57identity and their training are totally also different. Because Paralympics is more to
10:04performance. And Special Olympics is more to every child are given a chance to perform.
10:10Like those with ADHD, autism, Down syndrome, even though you're a slow learner, all these are
10:15under outside. So this is that every child are given an opportunity to play and to represent
10:22the country. This is where our philosophy of objective is that do not live for any single
10:28child. No, this is why there's a difference between Special Olympics and Paralympics.
10:35So I understand that you also regularly accompany our Special Olympics athletes overseas. And I think
10:42you told me just now that you were going to accompany them to Hong Kong for a regional bowling
10:49tournament, right? Yes, yes. So, I mean, for Special Olympics athletes, how often do you get to see
10:56supporters? You mean, how often does it happen? Well, basically, no. Not much? Not much of any
11:03supporters. Basically, the supporters are their parents and other country's parents for support.
11:09So, that's why we as Malaysian supporters have to play a bigger role to support all sports, which I
11:17look into the points that because every sports are unique that whether they have any supports to
11:24support them. Because Special Child is also different, they have their own Special Child support,
11:30their own Special Child when they play ref. They'll shout and scream and cheer for them also.
11:35So, this is also something to motivate them. That's why our normal players also need we famous to go
11:41there to support, right not Lee? Yeah, okay.
11:43So, this is where, like for example, I always remember the first match when we were in Vietnam
11:48League. Remember? That when we went there, the tennis, the first match, and we went there as
11:53famous, then we are not called as famous. We are being called as the yellow tee.
11:59Because famous wear the yellow. Yellow t-shirt.
12:01Yellow t-shirt. So, that's why. And then, Vietnam said that the Malaysia won because of the yellow
12:06tee. So, this is one thing that we feel proud of our supporters to win to support Malaysia.
12:11And then, that's why Special Olympics also need supporters to support them. And also, I think
12:17we also did that once with Lee together to done a, we call it a unified game inclusion that
12:22a lot of the famous members also understand actually what is Special Olympics about.
12:26Okay? This is what, totally two different entities.
12:30We have worked together with Special Olympics in the sense that we had a bowling clinic, a
12:36bowling tournament at the...
12:38I think we covered that, yes.
12:40Yeah.
12:40A few years ago, yes.
12:41Yeah, a few years ago. So, I think parents, the parents of the kids were there as well to
12:48give support. And of course, our members plus those well wishes.
12:55Mr. Lee, I wonder, I mean, you've done this for, what, 20, 30 years, right? Have the athletes
13:01ever come to you and say, hey, thank you? What has been the reception among our athletes?
13:07Are they supportive or what?
13:10Well, athletes, of course, when they are not performing during the day, they will also join
13:16us at the stand. Like what happened at the SEA Games, you know, in Cambodia, Thailand. They
13:25will be there to also cheer on to their fellow athletes. Because after their program has finished,
13:31they will not be going back to Malaysia immediately. They will stay on for the closing ceremony.
13:37So, they will join us and then our supporters group become bigger. Instead of only, let's say, 40 or 50,
13:44we became like 70, 80. So, that's good.
13:47So, but we will provide them with the cheer materials, the compang, the flags, the t-shirt, the banners, the
13:55slogan, pom-pom stick, pom-pom stick. We call it cheer stick.
14:00So, they will, we will hand them a few sets of, on their own. Then, we will, of course, we
14:07will provide the cheer. We will come out with them. We have a few cheer leaders. So, everything is all
14:13laid out, you know. The most important thing is we are going as a team, the cheer team. Whether you're
14:19from FEMAS or you're just athlete, we are cheering for the Malaysian contingent.
14:24Yeah. Mr. Fu, I mean, how important it is for Special Olympics athletes to have cheers and supporters in the
14:32stadiums?
14:33Okay. Basically, we did once, previously we did once, which is very unique because while special children always have a
14:42phobia of gathering a lot with a lot of clubs, they have a phobia because they don't feel safe.
14:48So, when we did a practice of putting them into a room, we were putting a mirror with people shouting
14:55and sprinting to comfort them to come down to feel that these are all your Malaysian supporters.
15:01And then, they do understand that they have supporters back behind them to support them.
15:06That's why, when we were in Berlin, we came back with a very good result.
15:12Hmm. Okay. That's something that I've never thought about. Okay.
15:16Mr. Lee, it's not always that we win. Sometimes, you know, I think we went to a number of events
15:22and we were not winning, but we cheered anyhow.
15:25So, like, maybe you can tell us how do you respond to that? You know, you come, you know, all
15:30gung, all ready to cheer, and then our athletes are not winning.
15:34How should we respond to that? How do you normally react to that?
15:39So, the trick is, we must not only be there when they are winning, we must also be there when
15:44they are losing or when they are down, when they are down and out, when they feel a bit, you
15:49know, sad.
15:52So, our role is actually to cheer at all times.
15:56So, and also, to answer to your question, we don't only pick popular sports like badminton, football, hockey.
16:04We are in multi-sports, like multi-sports events, like sea games.
16:09There are something like 40, 50 sports.
16:11So, we have to crack our head to be even be at events like sports, venues, archery, chess, petang, even
16:25fencing, where some of these sports are not familiar, are not popular among Malaysians.
16:33But, we still have to be there. Like, chess, we cannot cheer. Esports, we cannot cheer.
16:38We did cheer for esports.
16:39Yeah, we sport, we did cheer.
16:40And we won our women's team one goal, I remember.
16:43And we were there at the towards the end, remember?
16:45And there was a surprise that we came, I remember that, yes.
16:47We were tipped off by one of our members that we were on the winning side.
16:52We were like, you know, they had a marathon seven hour, four to four, four to five hours.
16:58But, at the end of it, we were leading.
17:01And when we went there, we actually turned the, in a way, we turned the tables around.
17:09And our esports athletes, they were so happy to see us, you know, that finally they won the gold medal.
17:18And there were celebrations throughout the whole day.
17:22I remember the matches that I remember were the ones, when basketball, and we went up against Singapore.
17:30So, we won, I think, by one point, I think.
17:32It was a very closely fought match.
17:34And then, we also won, what's it called?
17:36Netball.
17:37For the Jaring.
17:38Oh, sorry, netball.
17:39We won.
17:39Call it netball.
17:39Netball, yeah.
17:41Netball is for the women, right?
17:43And then, we also won basketball, was it?
17:45Also against Singapore.
17:46I think, we won by one or two points.
17:48And it was very closely fought.
17:49And we shit like insane, I remember.
17:52There were a few spots, but I can specifically mention the spot of netball.
17:58When we entered the stadium, it was full of, we were playing with Singapore, our closest neighbour, right?
18:06And we were actually trailing.
18:08Yeah.
18:09Actually, we were trailing.
18:10And the stadium was full of Singapore supporters.
18:13They came in bus loads, about three, four bus loads.
18:16I think they outnumbered.
18:17They outnumbered us.
18:18They had about 200 old supporters.
18:19We only had about like 20, 20, 20 to 30 plus people like the, from the press, you know?
18:27Yeah.
18:27So, but, but our cheers were more coordinated.
18:30We had better cheer materials.
18:32We had compound.
18:33We had flags.
18:34We have, we have, you know, we were colourful.
18:37So, at the end, I think when we went into the second, towards the third quarter and fourth quarter,
18:43we managed to turn the match around, of course, the athletes were telling us what to do because certain times
18:51we have to keep quiet.
18:52Certain times we have to keep quiet.
18:54Certain times we have to shout as loud as possible.
18:58At the end, I think you're right.
18:59We won by one or two points.
19:01Yeah.
19:02I remember because I took the pitch.
19:03Yes, and we wrested the gold medal and Singapore, they were the, actually, they were the favourites.
19:09They were very strong.
19:10They were very strong for women's netball.
19:12But at the end, we won it back.
19:14You know, I think maybe after a hiatus of two or two or three SEA Games.
19:19So, I can also mention two other occasions, not specifically for the Thailand SEA Games 2025, but at the Korat
19:30SEA Games in 2007,
19:33we were playing basketball, women's basketball against Thailand.
19:36Thailand was the host and the stadium was packed, was full, completely packed.
19:41And we were, I think we had only about 40 to 45 Malaysians inside.
19:47About 45 is famous supporters, which was sitting in a group.
19:54Our athletes came seeing that they sit opposite of us.
19:57Because during that time, we was not being synchronised together.
20:00That's why it was, the cheering was so-called complicated.
20:04Here, shot and there, shot.
20:05So, when after the first session, then the athletes came over to us together and we sit together.
20:11When we synchronised, they cheer and we overturned.
20:14We overturned the match.
20:15We won by a single, solitary point.
20:18One point.
20:19And we became the SEA Games gold medalist for women's basketball.
20:24And another occasion was, I remember very clearly, was badminton in 2005 at Manila SEA Games Philippines,
20:31where it was the badminton team event.
20:35And I think we were trailing.
20:38When we went, we were actually late because of the jam.
20:41You know, the jam in Philippines, in Manila.
20:43It was, it took us about one hour to get from one venue to another.
20:47So, by the time we arrived, we were trailing 0-1.
20:51Yeah, 0-2.
20:520-2, right?
20:530-2.
20:54We were trailing.
20:54But we managed to turn it around to 3-2.
20:573-2.
20:58At the end, it was 3-2.
20:59It was a team event.
21:00People like our athletes, our, our, no, not Fukuoka Kiong.
21:04Yeah, Fukuoka Kiong.
21:06No, that was 2005.
21:07Hafiz.
21:08Hafiz.
21:08That time, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, Wong Jun Han.
21:14I remember all, all these players, they were, they were there.
21:17And they were so happy to see us.
21:19Because they didn't expect that the, the famous supporters.
21:23Because, you see, when they have been trailing 2-0,
21:27there looks like the hook is not there.
21:29And they didn't expect the famous last minute catch, able to make it.
21:33That's why when they feel that they are, as I said, mentioned before,
21:36most of the athletes, when you have the cheer team inside from Malaysia,
21:39they feel like they're in the home ground.
21:41So, the atmosphere of them playing is more comfort.
21:44That's why we have 2-0 is very important.
21:46That last time we used in Philippines, when our players are down,
21:50you always use the word, it's okay, it's all right.
21:52Come on, Malaysia, fight, fight, fight.
21:54This is where that we give them two, tell them,
21:56Kuda, okay, fight.
21:58And then the other second one, which we used to do is that,
22:01North, South, East, West, Malaysia is the best.
22:03So, this is something to tell them, you don't worry.
22:06That we are there to support.
22:07So, that's why the things are totally different.
22:10That's why it's very important when we do the cheering,
22:13the synchronise, the cheer, that gives them the motivation.
22:18It's very important.
22:18You find the cheer that suits the situation.
22:21That's why when they are down, so we have to use this cheer.
22:23Look, it's okay, it's all right.
22:24That means tell them, don't worry.
22:26Come on, Malaysia, fight, fight, fight.
22:28So, that means they feel like, okay, I don't have to worry.
22:30I just keep on playing.
22:31We have short cheers.
22:33Our cheers must not be too long.
22:35But, of course, during the interval, when, in between matches,
22:39we will sing the, uh, the, the raku or the, uh, the song which,
22:45we go in the marching one is, uh, what, uh, Vira something.
22:51Vira, Vira, Malaysia.
22:52But, of course, the, the basic ones are Malaysia Boleh,
22:55Go, go, go, Malaysia.
22:57Go, Malaysia, go.
22:57Uh, then, of course, we're either by our compang, uh.
23:01Go, Malaysia, go.
23:02Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
23:03Go, Malaysia, go.
23:04Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
23:06Those are very striking, uh, very sharp.
23:09The players hear it.
23:10We must give them motivated, motivation words,
23:13not demotivating words.
23:16Uh, yeah.
23:17Mr. D, I remember you told me about, um,
23:20the C games in Jakarta.
23:22Yep.
23:23Oh, that was really good.
23:25Yeah.
23:25And you tell them,
23:26I'm going to repeat that again.
23:27Yes, yes, about when they threw stones, you know, what happened then?
23:30That was 2011, SEA Games.
23:33Some of my supporters, they were in Palembang.
23:37And some of our supporters were in Jakarta.
23:41So the Jakarta, the football event was in Jakarta.
23:45I was specifically in Jakarta.
23:48No, you were in Palembang first.
23:50They fly over to Jakarta.
23:51I was in Palembang with some of my supporters.
23:53Then I flew over to Jakarta to join another group, you know.
23:57And a very, very, very, very heartening note here would be when we were in two buses.
24:09Hang on, before you go into the story, just to tell our listeners, this was the final match.
24:14This was the final stall between Malaysia and Hoss Indonesia at the Senayan Stadium.
24:23Istora Senayan.
24:24Okay.
24:25They had, this is like our Kijalia, you know, they have badminton, they have badminton, they have football in the
24:30same sports complex.
24:32So when we, this, we must thank the Olympic Council of Malaysia and also the National Sports Association and the
24:40sports secretariat in Jakarta, SEA Games at that time,
24:44for helping to coordinate the whole thing.
24:46They arranged two buses.
24:48Our, our members were there, were inside the bus.
24:52On the way, we have to, we have to leave at, from a certain part of the city.
24:58Hidden.
24:59We have to be hidden.
25:00Our curtains were drawn.
25:01We must not let the outsiders know who are inside, sitting inside the bus.
25:05So when we go in, we were escorted in through a special part of the stadium.
25:11And then we, you know, our, our bus landed in the middle of the football field before the match started.
25:19Just like, you know, the, the, the American soldiers, when they, when they arrived, when they, when they arrived, when
25:26they were, when they were, during the Vietnam War,
25:29they, they actually airlifted from the rooftop of one building.
25:34Okay.
25:34So we were actually landed, we landed in the middle of the field.
25:38And then all the Indonesian supporters were already sitting in the stands.
25:42Then we were escorted from the middle of the field, one by one, you know, all lined up.
25:48And then we, we went up to the stand and we sat in front of their, their president.
25:54At that time was, uh, uh, president, uh, Bambang, Bambang, ah, Bambang something, Bambang Suprianto.
26:01I cannot remember.
26:02I can't remember the name.
26:03Bambang Suprianto.
26:05So, uh, so this, the president of Indonesia kept a good watch over us.
26:10Make sure his, his, uh, his citizens don't do anything naughty.
26:14But the fact is, when we were on the way to the stadium, our bus, our coach was rocked left
26:22and right.
26:23They used their hands to, the bypassers, the bypassers were rocking our buses.
26:29They were throwing stones at us, you know, but of course they didn't, they really damaged our bus.
26:34Our buses were, got into the stadium safely.
26:37After the event, you know what happened?
26:39We won one after, during the match, we beat them, we beat the Indonesian team 1-0.
26:451-0, I still remember, uh, that, that event.
26:48And then after that, we, we were worried, how, how are we going to get out of the stadium?
26:53So, same thing again, we have to go out through the toilets, you know, through the back of the toilet
26:58and then into the bus and then again, escorted out of the stadium with the curtains drawn.
27:05That was really, uh, amazing memory for me.
27:08Okay.
27:08Luckily, nothing untoward happened.
27:10Yes.
27:11I mean, I mean, sporting events can be, uh, can be a hype, can be a, you know, a very,
27:15uh, emotionally charged environment.
27:17Yes.
27:17You know how, how, how, how fierce, you know, how, uh, how, uh, how ferocious, uh, these, uh, Indonesian supporters
27:27are, you know, they, when they support their team.
27:29They support their country, they're really patriotic.
27:31Yeah, they are so patriotic.
27:32And that is C Games.
27:33One can imagine if both of us qualify for work.
27:37That will be a very, very deep point.
27:39Mr. Fu, um, are there any sports in Malaysia that you think deserve more support?
27:44Uh, you know, people always talk about badminton and, and football, but what are the sports that, you know, people
27:50tend to overlook that maybe we should give more attention to?
27:53I think basically because, uh, every sport needs supporters.
27:56Not only say particular badminton or football, but most of the supporters, their interest is only particular choosing sport.
28:05That they are interested in.
28:06That's why it's very important that for famous, okay, that we need to well organize and we need to do
28:15something which new, which I think, which we knew that whatever event that we wanted to support, we should let
28:21the, our Malaysian citizens know that this is going to have a spot in this.
28:26Those are interested.
28:27Please come and gather together and cheer together.
28:30Because basically now I don't think that most of them, which is in locally, they don't sit together and cheer
28:35together.
28:35Everyone has their own way of cheering because everyone's heart are different feelings.
28:40Then they do not synchronize them.
28:42Like what happened to Indonesia, their patriotics until they just sing the same tune of cheers that Malaysia have not
28:50to that level, which I think is very important for us that.
28:53If we have this level, all sports can be cheer because every sports have their own supporters.
28:57But it's not been trained to cheer under that right away, that's all.
29:02I remember when I went to the, because I used to watch sports, I mean, sea games on TV.
29:09So I normally watch swimming, the ones I like, the, what's it called, the gym rama, they call it gym
29:14rama, right?
29:15Rhythm gymnastics, you know, swimming, diving.
29:18But when I went to the sea games in person physically, I went to sea fencing, wushu, things I wouldn't
29:24normally care about.
29:26So I was like, wait, this is actually quite interesting, you know?
29:28And I remember I actually stood behind the podium or something.
29:32I can't remember.
29:32There were a number of wushu athletes around me.
29:35So they were, I remember they were very nervous and they were very, but they were very like, they were
29:40sweating all over.
29:41And I was like, wow, this is actually, you know, like the real deal.
29:44They're the tense of so-called, because I myself have been playing for games.
29:51So we know the feelings of the tense, that when you are there without supports back behind you.
29:57So when you have someone to cheer you and console you, you will have a different atmosphere when you come
30:02up to the stage to perform.
30:04Yeah.
30:05So this is very important, like you mentioned, what are the sports that they need supporters?
30:08Actually, all the sports needs, like you mentioned wushu.
30:10Wushu is very well known that their sport is more to mind and concentrate.
30:16So that's why when we have our team there that's been seen by them, although you don't cheer, but it's
30:22been seen by them,
30:23they will feel more comfort because all I have relations people who are behind me.
30:27So this is very important, like, for example, Lee mentioned that the chess.
30:31I think we went there in a 2-0-2, 2-0-2-3 that in Vietnam, the chess game,
30:37which cannot cheer.
30:38But when we are walking around with the chess players who are playing, they feel like they have Malaysians there
30:44to support them.
30:45So this is something that should be happening, that Malaysia, although whether for our sport it is,
30:51but make sure that our supporters of Malaysians are there to give a moral support to them, at least being
30:58seen physically.
31:00I want to start looking ahead.
31:03Mr. Lee, what are your, I mean, what is FEMUS priorities now?
31:07What are you looking forward to in the next 2, 3, 4 years?
31:09Are there any events you are looking forward to?
31:11Of course, there is so much to look forward to in terms of events.
31:17Next year will be a big year for Malaysia.
31:20Malaysia, we have the Sea Games in KL, Kuching, Penang, and 4 locations.
31:29Of course, Kuching will host the part of the events.
31:33So we have not really decided whether we are going to Kuching or KL yet.
31:38But in terms of the coming, there are many, many events coming.
31:45There are Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi coming.
31:48We just finished the, all our members were all busy with the World Cup, right?
31:55The football.
31:56But of course, Malaysia didn't qualify.
31:59But there are many more events, which we cannot have too many big teams like Sea Games.
32:07Sea Games is the so-called bi-annual.
32:11Every 2 years, you have the Sea Games.
32:13And it's regional.
32:13And it's regional.
32:14And we have the corporation from the CGF, Sea Games, Southeast Asian Games Federation,
32:21whereby we can go into the stadium using an accreditation pass.
32:29Every host of the Sea Games will offer AD pass to all other participating countries.
32:36So we can get in and out of the stadium free of charge.
32:39So that will aid, that will help our planning easily.
32:43Of course, we must also thank people like OCM, MSN, ISN,
32:50German Tremblayer, Dan Sukan.
32:52And of course, our relationship with them is very good.
32:57You know, they have helped us over the years.
33:01How about Special Olympics Malaysia, the Selangor chapter, Mr. Fu?
33:05Are we looking forward to anything?
33:07Okay, basically now, as you can see,
33:10that there's a lot of people who don't understand Special Olympics.
33:14Special Olympics is the same thing as the Olympic Games,
33:17that they will have every 4 years.
33:18They have their World Games, World Summer Games, and World Winter Games.
33:22So, next year will be our World Summer Games,
33:24which we will have in Santiago, Chile.
33:27And that Malaysia are planning to send supporters there,
33:31I mean the players there to play.
33:33Basically, tonight, we will have a selection of players
33:37that we will select to represent Malaysia
33:38to go for the World Games.
33:40And then, by looking at it,
33:43because a lot of opportunity will be given up.
33:47So, the major one will be on World Games.
33:51But, recently coming up one,
33:53we will have one bowling regional game in Hong Kong
33:57that will be having about 10 countries participate.
34:00And Malaysia will be sending 8 players.
34:02Okay, and then after that,
34:04then we will have another basketball regional game in Philippines.
34:09So, this is what the...
34:10Whenever regional games,
34:11we will be invited to participate.
34:14So, that is why you can see it's totally different.
34:17Regional games, it's not necessary to be...
34:19How many years?
34:20It's just up to the host whether they want to organise a regional game.
34:23We have organised the badminton last year,
34:27regional badminton last year in KF.
34:30So, it's very successful.
34:31But also, same thing about 10 countries turn up to play.
34:34So, it's something that we try to so-called expose out
34:37to more special child to come in to join into our activities.
34:40I understand that our Special Olympic athletes
34:43have actually been doing quite well.
34:45I think they have won a fair number of medals in the past, right?
34:48Yeah.
34:48In 2023, we sent only about 16 athletes to Berlin
34:54and we came back with 4 goals,
34:575 0 and 9 bronze.
34:59That is one of the most successful stories
35:01that we can say that Malaysia have done with 16 athletes.
35:05Mm-hmm.
35:06Okay, that's quite an achievement.
35:08But anyway, I think we need to wrap up soon.
35:12So, before we do, Mr. Lee,
35:14is there anything that you want to add?
35:16Anything that you think, you know,
35:17Malaysian sports fans should know?
35:20Well, we would like more and more Malaysian fans
35:24who are interested in sports to come on board
35:28to join our famous sports supporters club.
35:32You know, we can be seen
35:35and we heard in the stadium together.
35:38They can, of course, follow our Instagram group.
35:41We have our Facebook group.
35:43We also have our Telegram group.
35:46We have also many, many WhatsApp groups.
35:50So, we encourage through our recruitment membership campaign
35:57for Malaysians to come together.
36:00And there will be,
36:01we will plan together
36:02to organise the SEA Games campaign together next year,
36:07which is not too far away.
36:09It's in September next year.
36:11So, we like young fans,
36:13young, especially the younger people,
36:15younger, you know,
36:16to come forward
36:17and join our official
36:19Malaysian sports supporters club.
36:22The main aim is to uplift the athlete's performance
36:25vocally and morally.
36:28Mm-hmm.
36:29Yeah.
36:29Okay.
36:30It's a good goal.
36:31Any, any, any expectations for the SEA Games?
36:33Anything?
36:34I mean, we are hosting, right?
36:36So, normally for SEA Games,
36:37it's the first country
36:37that wins the first thing.
36:39Of course, host countries always have the advantage.
36:41They will always try to formulate,
36:46formula,
36:46where they can win as many gold medals as possible
36:50and host the type of sports
36:56that Malaysia is good at,
36:58excel in.
36:59If I remember correctly,
37:00like the host country has the right
37:02to introduce sports,
37:03certain sports events or something.
37:06I need to go and look at that.
37:08For, right?
37:08Yeah.
37:09Of course, like when Thailand hosts the game,
37:11they introduce sports like Muay Thai.
37:14Yeah.
37:15And when Vietnam hosts the game,
37:17they had something like
37:18Vietnamese fin swimming,
37:20if I remember.
37:21Okay.
37:22So, likewise,
37:24Malaysia will definitely have our own sports.
37:27Like...
37:28Philippines have their sports dance.
37:29Ah, Philippines have their sports dance.
37:31Malaysia, we are good at penca silat.
37:34Okay.
37:34Maybe penca silat.
37:36We don't have...
37:36And diving.
37:37You see, we are the powerhouse in diving,
37:39you know.
37:40Yes.
37:40Malaysia.
37:41Too bad when we win Bangkok,
37:42we actually miss the...
37:43Yeah.
37:44Missed that.
37:44Oh, yeah.
37:45Remember, I think you remember...
37:47We were late.
37:47We were late.
37:48We arrived.
37:49When we arrived there,
37:49the diving was...
37:51Event was over.
37:52But at least we were there
37:53to give the prize bringing.
37:55The prize bringing.
37:56The prize giving.
37:57So, that is still considered as
38:00giving support to our athletes.
38:02Mr. Fu, anything you want to add
38:03before we wrap up this podcast?
38:05I think basically,
38:06like for the Special Olympics,
38:09I will look into the point
38:10because now a lot of special child,
38:12they are not being brought out
38:13and exposed out to the society.
38:16Then I hope that if the opportunity,
38:18they are being brought out
38:19that for them to give them
38:20the opportunity for them
38:21to learn by using sports.
38:24So, from sports,
38:25they will be able to learn
38:26to be independent
38:26and how to handle themselves.
38:28Okay.
38:31I think just for me,
38:33I mean,
38:33I'm not as dedicated as you guys.
38:35I watch sports,
38:37but not as much as you guys do.
38:40I remember when I was in SEA Games,
38:42when we won, right,
38:43and we had Negaraku play,
38:45you know,
38:45in a foreign country,
38:46it felt different.
38:47You know,
38:47I've heard Negaraku
38:48a million times over here,
38:50but hearing it overseas,
38:51you know,
38:51and all these people
38:53from other countries,
38:54they stood beside you
38:55and they had to be silent
38:56as a sign of respect.
38:58There was a different kind
38:59of feeling there,
39:00you know.
39:00I think I uploaded some videos
39:02and my mom saw them
39:03on my WhatsApp status
39:04and she was like,
39:05wow,
39:06you know,
39:06I'm not there,
39:07but I felt there.
39:08Because the feelings
39:09are different.
39:10Yeah.
39:10The atmosphere that gives you
39:11that you're proud
39:12of your country,
39:13that your national item
39:15has been seen over there.
39:16So, this is what,
39:17for Famous,
39:18is that we are always
39:18proud of our country
39:19when every event,
39:20we went there
39:21when we hit our national items.
39:24All right.
39:24So,
39:25anything else to add
39:25before we close?
39:27Yeah,
39:27I would like to thank
39:28the star
39:30for
39:31the opportunity
39:32giving us the opportunity
39:33to elaborate more
39:34to the listeners
39:37to understand
39:38actually
39:38what is the difference
39:39between Paralympic
39:40and Special Olympics
39:41and maybe they can have
39:42a better exposure
39:44to understand more
39:45if they want.
39:46All right.
39:47Thank you for tuning in, guys.
39:50So,
39:50Life and the City Podcast
39:51can be viewed
39:52on our YouTube channel
39:53at The Star Online
39:55or
39:55www.thestar.com.my
39:59slash metro.
40:00So,
40:00stay tuned.
40:01Have anything to say,
40:02feel free to leave
40:03your comments
40:04in the comment section.
40:05I'll be reading them.
40:09I'll be hearing you next time.
40:14Bye.
40:16Bye.
40:19Bye.
40:21Bye.
40:21Bye.
40:22Bye.
40:22You
Comments