Facebook user Jonathan
Ong Ujang is heating up the social network with his apology post on behalf of
Malaysia and an “I love Israel” remark after the Middle Eastern nation’s sports
body accused Putrajaya of being difficult, forcing it to withdraw its two
athletes from an international windsurfing tournament in Langkawi.
Ong, whose Facebook
profile shows him to be a Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris student from
Kuching, Sarawak, sparked debate with his sympathy for the Israeli athletes
caught in a diplomatic policy row.
“On behalf of
Malaysia, I would like to sincerely apologise for causing Israel much
humiliation and burden. You are an national entity and have the right to be
proud of your nation and national symbols. It is too bad that the government
policy dictates that they do not recognise the State of Israel. Once again,
deepest apologies to Israel. I love Israel,” he wrote yesterday on the Facebook
page of Israeli news portal, The Jerusalem Post.
According to The
Jerusalem Post, Israel Sailing Association chairman Amir Gill blamed
Malaysia for delaying the visa application and putting “unacceptable”
restrictions on its two athletes Yoav Omer and Noy Drihan who were set to
defend this titles at the Langkawi youth windsurfing tournament Sunday.
Gill claimed Omer and
Drihan would not be allowed to compete under the Israel flag, nor would they be
allowed to wear any symbol to identify them as Israeli, or even have their
national anthem played if they should win the gold medal, as is customary.
He reportedly added
that Israel is considering suing Malaysia and the International Sailing
Federation (ISAF) for not allowing its athletes to participate.
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