Sport fraternity’s memorial monument for MH370 victims?

Friday, March 28, 2014 - The Malay Mail

Pahang fans pay tribute to victims of MH370, March 8, 2014. They observed a 37 minute silence during Tuesday's match against PKNS at Shah Alam Stadium.

THE Flight MH370 tragedy brought the whole nation together and on a global scale saw 26 nations come forward to help in the search and rescue, which is something that is going down in history.
For 17 days after the aircraft went missing mysteriously, everyone was hoping and praying that the 239 on board the plane will return home to their loved ones.
But when news was announced on Monday night by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that MH370 had ended in the southern Indian Ocean, it marked an end to hope of any survivors from the tragic event.
While many are still hoping against hope, as the days pass by, it looks more remote that this nightmare will end on a happy note.
It is understandable that immediate family members and loved ones of those on board the ill-fated flight still want some concrete evidence that all lives perished in the disaster. It may take more time and more heartache before everyone comes to accept the worst has happened.
The finding of the black box will shed some light and until then, no amount of condolences, compensation, compassion and understanding is going to make sense to the affected.
Sports has on many occasions been looked at as a means to bring peace and solace in times of sorrow.
Malaysians have been generous in offering their condolences to the affected people. Even journalists covering the tragedy shed tears when told of the fate of MH370 while presenters choked when making the announcement. This only goes to show how much this tragedy has affected everyone.
Maybe the sports fraternity in Malaysia can do their bit to show that they care and share the pain of the victims’ family members.
I am suggesting that football and badminton, being the two top sports in the country, hold a charity game to raise funds to erect a memorial monument where the families of the victims can come and offer prayers and remember forever their loved ones.
It will also serve as a reminder of how fragile life is and that one should always value it and live to the fullest with peace and love for others.
The football match could be between the M-League XI and M-League foreign XI while the badminton challenge could be between Lee Chong Wei’s team and Asian-All Stars.
All other sports associations can support the event by donating to it or buying tickets to be distributed to schools and the under-privileged.
This is not about raising money, but about Malaysia’s sports fraternity coming together as a family to do their bit.
Whether or not this is doable or the sportsmen and women of Malaysia want to undertake the task, it is food for thought.
Malaysian sportsmen and women, without doubt, are a lucky lot who get support from the government and private sector to pursue their careers.
In fact, Malaysia has some of the best training facilities in the world and athletes also enjoy international exposure. Now is the time for Malaysian athletes to give back to society and fans who have made them who they are.
At a time when the whole world is focused on Malaysia, surely, the sports fraternity can stand united and do something, even if it is small, to honour and respect the nationalities of those on MH370?
TONY MARIADASS has 35
years of experience in sports journalism and
is passionate about Malaysian sports. He can be
reached at tmariadass@gmail.com. Twitter handle:
@tmariadass