KUALA LUMPUR: Pas Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has condemned the suspension of national women's hockey player Hanis Nadiah Onn, who posted a racist remark on social media during a recent AR Rahman concert.
He said the move was too harsh considering that Hanis had made a public apology over the matter and deleted the social media post.
"The investigation committee says Hanis is a down-to-earth person and has shown a high level of discipline during training and tournaments.
"Her coach says she has many Indian friends in the hockey fraternity and they all get along well because of her friendly nature. These meant that what was written (on social media by her) was not intend to raise stir racial sentiment or contain racist elements as claimed by certain netizens," said Fadhli in a statement.
The Youth and Sports Ministry today announced that Hanis has been suspended indefinitely for making a racist remark and would not be in the national team for the Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games in May.
The ministry added that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) would review Hanis' suspension if she showed a positive change in her behaviour.
Recently, the 26-year-old had said on Instagram that the National Stadium, where music maestro AR Rahman had held a concert, was smelly. After the controversy broke out, Hanis had deleted her comment and apologised to the public.
Fadhli, who is Pasir Mas member of parliament, said the suspension would jeopardise Hanis' future and affect the national squad's chances in winning a medal at the Southeast Asian Games.
"I urged Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to intervene in this issue and retract the suspension."
