A few days back, it was reported that national track cyclist Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom had been relegated by the 2024 Paris Olympics, resulting in a 6th-place finish, after Japanese rider Shinji Nakano had collided with him on the track. This led to Malaysians attacking the Japanese rider’s social media pages.
Shah Firdaus is now speaking up about Malaysians’ decision to cyberbully Shinji Nakano after the former received a message from the latter. And let’s just say, he is not happy.
“I thought Malaysians were nice!”
According to a report by Berita Harian, Shah Firdaus shared how Shinji had messaged him saying that he thought Malaysians were nice, leading Shah Firdaus to feel embarrassed and guilty by the actions of Malaysian cyber troopers.
He also believes that cyberbullying the Japanese rider is embarrassing for Malaysia as a country, especially because he and Shinji are friends.
“Last night, he messaged me saying he was getting attacked (on his social media accounts). I didn’t even know. When I checked, there were already tens of thousands of comments. I hope netizens stop this because it affects us too. The collision did happen, there was ‘body contact’ and that is normal in keirin,”
“And actually, he did not intend to hit me, it was because of ‘G-force’,” he said.
Shah Firdaus went on to explain that he feels guilty that his friend is enduring such cyberbullying.
“Normally in Keirin, there is ‘body contact’ and such. It’s just that from the eyes of the audience, it looks like he did it on purpose but of course, everybody wants to win so there’s no grudges whatsoever. What hurt me was that he thought Malaysians were nice because I am friends with him. If I travel to Japan, he would take me sightseeing,”
“So when he experienced (the cyberbullying), I felt guilty. He messaged me, he thought Malaysians were nice people. I felt so embarrassed.”
Shah Firdaus also clarified that Shinji did not apologise.
Apparently, the TikTok account that shared an apology to Malaysians following the immense cyberbullying does not belong to Shinji. It is, in fact, a fan account and has since been deleted.
“That’s not his (Shinji’s) TikTok account, he told me. We met after the race. That TikTok account, it’s by people who create stories. But, me and him, we’re fine. We don’t have any problems with each other,” Shah Firdaus added.
Another fan account has since popped up, sharing an apology to both Shah Firdaus and Malaysia’s national track cycling champion, Azizulhasni Awang.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
