Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai was in attendance at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night along with several of his Progress Singapore Party (PSP) members to watch Singapore footballing legends take on their Malaysian counterparts in an invitational match as part of a book launch, ‘ROAR: Football Legends of Singapore’.
Fans were able to relive their Lion’s glory days of the Malaysia Cup era as they witnessed players such as Fandi Ahmad, Malek Awab, Razali Saad, and R Suriamurthy, taking on Soh Chin Ann and Dollah Salleh with the host winning the match 2-0.
After the match, Leong was spotted mingling with the former national players at a nearby coffeeshop having small talks and taking photos. With him were fellow CEC members Dr Ang Yong Guan, Wendy Low and Phang Yew Huat.
But the attention was not only on the footballers, as members of the public soon took notice of the NCMP, and they strike up a conversation and gave words of support.
“I told Mun Wai to keep up the good work. I support what he is doing in Parliament, especially when he recently brought up the Sports Hub issue,” said Jimmy, one of the supporters seen interacting with the PSP NCMP.
The book Roar is authored by sports enthusiast Thiyaga Raju Arumugam, whose passion for writing was ignited when he joined The Straits Times editorial department in January 1979.
“We should recognise and appreciate our football legends — past and present — for their contributions to the nation through sport. They sacrificed a lot of their prime years slogging under the sun to bring honour to our country, and this is my small gift to them,” said the author.
Undoubtedly, the biggest cheer on the field that night belongs to Singapore’s favourite footballing son, Fandi Ahmad. Many sports enthusiasts would remember growing up watching the number 17 with his goal-scoring exploits and nifty footwork.
“Football is always alive, not a lifestyle for me. I trained very hard to get where I am, and my dream is to always represent Singapore,” said Fandi in a video shown before the match.
“It’s not easy, but I think we need to adjust lots of things, especially getting kids to play everywhere they want.
“We played on the streets, at the void deck, at the kampung, on the road and everywhere. Football is not always about the skills, but it is also about the will. If you have the will, anything is possible,” added the current technical adviser to Malaysian Super League side Pahang.