KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's former national shuttler Bong Guang Yik has apologised for the racist remarks he made in a video posted on social media.

Mr Bong said he felt compelled to share his thoughts on the current state of badminton in Malaysia, but admitted he crossed the line when he touched on race and religion.

"I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone," said Mr Bong in a new video released on Monday (Feb 13).

"The reason I shared my comments is because I really love the sport.

"I feel that I have a responsibility to try and better the sport and the industry for the benefit of all. This is why I said all levels of management must be good.

"I, however, should not have touched on the racial issue and for that, I apologise again."

The racist remarks from Mr Bong came when he criticised the Badminton Association of Malaysia's Malay-led management in an earlier video, which prompted Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to address the statement on Monday.

While she did not name him specifically, the Segambut Member of Parliament said that even though Mr Bong had apologised, she strongly condemned any racial and religious speech, especially in the sporting industry.

“I believe that race and religion do not interfere with the performance of athletes and sports. This has never been a problem in Malaysia,” she said in her Twitter post on Monday morning.

“I repeat my stand — sports must be free from any racial and political elements. All national athletes are a source of inspiration to the community and are advised to be careful with their respective social media content,” she said.

Recently, national hockey player Hanis Nadia Onn Hanis was indefinitely suspended from international tournaments by the National Sports Council (NSC) and Malaysian Hockey Confederation for making racial slurs about Indian music maestro AR Rahman’s concert.

Ms Yeoh said that she had checked with the NSC and the Badminton Association of Malaysia and confirmed that the shuttler in the controversial video post was no longer a national athlete having served as a reserve trial player in 2014, nine years ago and is currently not residing in Malaysia.

Mr Bong is believed to have settled down in China and is coaching there. AGENCIES