Malaysia reacts angrily to Australian criticism
Malaysia reacts angrily to Australian criticism
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): As one newspaper put in bold yesterday, Australia's top Commonwealth Games official was a "pain from down under."
Perry Crosswhite, general manager of Australian's Commonwealth Games Association, may want to stay away from Kuala Lumpur, given how much hostility he has provoked.
On Wednesday, he warned Australian athletes to expect difficulties during next month's games because some of the Malaysian organizers were former military officers.
"I think if we judge it in respect of Western standards we are going to have to be very careful about that because we're used to running sports events of this magnitude and they are not," Crosswhite said.
"I take strong exception," said Hashim Mohd. Ali, the Malaysian chief of the 1998 organizing committee.
Hashim said he had dashed off a letter to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association protesting the comments.
"The Aussie is just an insecure redneck anxious to look sophisticated and wordly-wise," screamed yesterday's Malay Mail. "Friendly, yet so insular and parochial like their pinup girl of the moment -- Pauline Hanson."
Hanson is a right-wing, anti-Asian immigrant member of the Australian Parliament.
Crosswhite said Wednesday that Malaysia may have difficulty coping with some specific sport issues as some of the games officials are former military officers.
"Things are going to happen and it will go wrong," Crosswhite said.
Hashim is a retired army general and many of the other sports managers are former military officers.
Hashim said Malaysia would find it difficult to be a good host if visitors came in biased.
"If they come with a mind-set that things will go wrong, then it will become very difficult to look after them," he told a news conference.
But he said he wanted to wait for a response from the Australian sports managers before commenting further.
"If he comes and apologizes, I will accept that and say let us enjoy the games."
The 10-day games begin September 11. September is a month when it usually rains almost daily.
More than 6,000 athletes and sports officials are expected to participate in the games, ranked second to the Olympics in importance.
Meanwhile, cricketers will not be exempted from drug tests at next month's Commonwealth Games because all participants are governed by the same rules, the chief organizer said yesterday.
"The Commonwealth Games Federation stand is that there cannot be any exception," said Hashim Mohd. Ali, the chief organizer of the 1998 games which will include cricket for the first time.
Indian cricket managers have protested drug tests for cricketers, saying nowhere in the world do players undergo such scrutiny. Indian cricketers won't appear for tests, the Indian cricket board said this week.
Hashim said he had not received a letter from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, but if he does, he would just forward it to the CGF in London, which lays down rules for the games.
But he did not seem to think it was worth the fuss. "If you are innocent, then why do you worry," he said.
Tests to determine whether a sports person is taking performance-enhancing drugs will be carried out at random and a cricketer could very likely be included, he said. But not everyone would have to undergo the test.