Grieve, but football in Malaysia must go on

The Malaysian Super League is scheduled to kick off the 2024/25 season with the Charity Shield, or better known as the Sultan Ahmad Shah Cup, tomorrow. The match is between the 2023 Super League champion, Johor Darul Ta’zim FC (JDT), and last season’s league runner-up, Selangor FC.

Selangor will be without Faisal Halim, who was recently involved in a horrific acid attack that left him with fourth-degree burns on his body. The nation was appalled by the incident, as Selangor FC, had late last night, decided not to play in the Charity Cup match.

But, hopefully, the league will resume on Saturday. The show must go on.

It will not be an easy occasion for anyone, but what are we going to do? Cancel the opening week indefinitely? Stay at home scared, and pander to the expectations of terrorising criminals? The show must go on.

And at a time like this, football fans would have much more in common, other than their petty rivalries. I am certain the fans will unite in the face of this demon we’re fighting. These crimes, including the aggravated assault experienced by Akhyar Rashid on May 2, and the recent vandalism of property (car) belonging to Safiq Rahim on May 7, marked a worrying change for many football people.

Some fans are already talking about the possible return of ‘bookies’. The country is all in a big worry at the moment.

We must grieve for our broken footballers, but we must also be unflinching and not be suckered by the whims of criminals and cancel a sporting event. The most sensible thing for us to do is to trust our enforcement agencies, and call for greater security measures at football venues.

The show must go on.

The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.

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