Malaysian officials agreed to redesign some of the country’s kit for next month’s Paris Olympics after fans derided the outfits as “ugly” and “cheap looking”. Controversy erupted when the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) unveiled the gold-themed outfits featuring a tiger-stripe design last weekend.
Touted as symbolising Malaysia’s “relentless pursuit for gold medals”, the garments including tracksuits, polo shirts and t-shirts quickly became a target of public derision. Detractors were particularly upset with how the flag on the outfits were in gold instead of Malaysia’s red, blue, yellow and white. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chef de Mission Hamidin Mohamad Amin clarified that the Malaysian flag on the attire represented the official OCM logo.
READ ALSO: No cooperation expected from CHINADA on swimmers’ case
“The colours of orange, gold and blue are all acceptable; this is the logo of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, not the Malaysian flag, so there is no issue,” he said.
Some fans were also unhappy at how they were unveiled —on a series of mannequins. Footage of the ceremony during an Olympic Day celebration at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur showed the mannequins first wrapped in black cloth, with the fabric later removed following a countdown. Celebratory music and a smattering of applause could be heard.
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh distanced herself from the debacle on Monday by saying on X that her ministry had no jurisdiction over the design and the responsibility was with the OCM. The kits were to be used for travelling in, rather than competition, according to Amin. He also clarified that said that the majority of the country’s athletes who will compete in the upcoming Games had agreed with the design, but that the council have “decided to improve the existing design”.
“After taking into consideration and feedback from all parties, including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Council and national sports fans, the Olympic council acknowledges that the design of the official jacket was not well received,” he said.
Earlier this week, in an attempt to quell the public backlash, Amin proposed that a public competition be held for the design of the country’s Olympic kits in the future and said he spoke to the council’s president Mohamad Norza Zakaria following the criticism.
“He has essentially agreed that next time we will open up to fans for designing the contingent’s official attire for the next cycle, and we may even provide incentives,” Amin said.