M'sian hockey player apologises for racial slur regarding A R Rahman concert
Malaysian hockey player Hanis Onn issued an apology on Tuesday (Jan 31) after making racist comments on an Instagram video pertaining to a concert by Indian composer A.R. Rahman recently.
The 26-year-old commented on a video showing the audience at A. R. Rahman's Jan 28 concert in Bukit Jalil, and alluded to a negative racial stereotype.
Hanis wrote: "Bau best lah kat dalam tuh (laughing emoji)"
Roughly translated, it means "The smell in there must have been the best", playing into the racially-charged stereotype that Indians have body odour.
Not long after her post, many Malaysians decried her words as racist on social media. The outcry prompted Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to instruct the National Sports Council to investigate the matter.
Hanis issued an apology on Tuesday, before turning her Instagram account to private.
Saying her comment was an "error" and "careless", she said that throughout her 10-year hockey career she had been "surrounded with friends from various races".
Hanis, who in 2016 was awarded Asia’s Most Promising Female Hockey Player, is considered by many as a star player in the national team, and an influential young personality.
New Straits Times reported that she will face the disciplinary committee of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
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