Good grammar is definitely an important asset, especially when you’re in charge of writing media statements, which is why this particular statement from the Youth and Sports Ministry garnered the wrong kind of attention from local netizens.
Earlier on Sunday (22nd July), Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman issued a press statement addressing the release of players from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for the 2018 Asian Games.
Syed Saddiq mentioned in the press statement that he wanted every state football team and club to release players who were called up to play in the 2018 Asian Games in August. He emphasised that FAM should be playing a role in this, as releasing players is often a big challenge for the national head coach.
Kenyataan Media Menteri Belia dan Sukan, YB @SyedSaddiq berhubung isi pelepasan pemain skuad bola sepak bawah 23 negara bagi Temasya Sukan Asia 2018 pic.twitter.com/8OJWhvbwMt
— KBS (@KBSMalaysia) July 22, 2018
According to the New Straits Times, a translated excerpt from the statement reads,
“I understand the issue is an old issue that is repeated every time FAM is selected to face major championships, not just for football tournaments but also for sports festivals such as SEA Games and Asian Games.”
“I think that if FAM chooses to participate in any major championship, it should take a firm stand on such matters. What’s more, state football associations are FAM’s own affiliates.”
“For me, every state or club player picked to the national squad should see it as an honour because apart from being chosen to take Malaysia’s name to the international level, it also indirectly increases the player’s value.”
“The Ministry of Education (KPM) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) have invested heavily in shaping these players until they succeed in becoming good players and chosen to represent the states. Hence, they (players) have a responsibility to each of those who have been involved in moulding them to become great footballers today.”
This press statement came after national Under-23 squad (U-23) head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee stated that the national squad could withdraw from the 2018 Asian Games following difficulties in gathering players.
Source: NST
In light of the statement that was issued via the Ministry of Youth and Sports, many focused more on the grammatical aspect of Syed Saddiq’s press release.
In a post by a Facebook page called Tentera Troll Kebangsaan Malaysia, a photo of the press statement (which was written in Bahasa Malaysia) filled with marks pointing out sentence structure errors went viral. Honestly, this is giving us flashbacks to our ‘karangan’ writing days in school, wei! *shudders*
What’s even more hilarious about this is that they ended up giving the statement an embarrassing grade of 39 out of 100! Aiyo!
Kenyataan Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman ini kami beri markah 39/100. Cuba lebih baik lain kali. Ini kenyataan menteri…
Posted by Tentera Troll Kebangsaan Malaysia on Monday, July 23, 2018
The photo quickly went viral as soon as it surfaced yesterday (23rd July), garnering over 1,200 shares in less than 24 hours. Although many did point out that it probably was not Syed Saddiq himself who wrote the statement, the grammatical errors are still pretty jarring.
Well, let’s hope that the Youth and Sports Ministry learns from this and is more careful when writing out future press statements!
Also read: Numan Afifi Gets International Job Offers After Resigning From Youth Ministry
