...they just wither and disappear...... and are forgotten?
Santokh Singh collapsed at his home on Nov 16 after suffering convulsions.
He is now recovering in hospital.
Santokh Singh was everyone's football hero. Along with Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun and R. Arumugam.
And those were the days of Malaysian diversity in sports. Well, in football. Yep -- Chinese boys wanted to be Mokhtar Dahari, Malay boys wanted to play like Santokh....you get my drift?
So, yeah. Until the news of him falling sick, he had remained a distant memory. I had never wondered even about what had become of Santokh Singh. Simply because "you don't hear of him..."
Those glory days of Malaysian sports (football!) in the 70s and 80s are memorable.
Okay. Here's a confession. In the 80s, I would take a lot of trouble to watch Selangor (football team) play in Merdeka Stadium.
Then, ....sports and all took a decline for reasons we all know but have not cared to address.
That aside, what of our great sportsmen and sportswomen who have retired?
For sure, thay have simply faded away.
What have we made of their contributions?
Do we have an active fund to help these former athletes, especially when they fall ill?
Here's the NST report.
3 comments:
The answer lies with our education system.
Sekolah kebangsaan hijacked by overzealous malay administrators and teachers, SJKC and SJKT only mingle with their own kind.
Bring back English medium school where no one race can stake a claim in it. This will attract parents who are only interested in education irrespective of race and religion.
Active fund ? Pemain bola sepak pun gaji selalu delayed. Athletes remaja tajaan MSN pun, allowance delayed sampai 3 ~ 4 bulan. Sebab tu Sukan tak cemerlang di Malaysia
Ahhh, the '80s. I remember so many things Malaysians were capable of. There were those that shined in sports like football and badminton. There were those that shined in music. Rock groups, laugh if you must, with their long hair and tight jeans, went all the way to Jakarta and the Indonesians loved them there! I also remember my Chinese and Indian friends singing to local popular rock group's songs. Then ratu R&B built musical bridges from KL to Jakarta. It was a booming scene with sportsmen, musicians and other talented people.
Where are they now? I don't see anything akin to the '80s save for one or two sportswomen and a singer who is chosen based on sms's. The rest of the news is on political melodrama and crime. Where are those individuals who could bring together other races in the name of sports and music? Somehow, I just hear an echo in the past, shouting back at me.
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