Feature image credit: Lee Zii Jia @ Instagram
Dear Lee Zii Jia,
First and foremost, a heartfelt congratulations to you.
Congrats on having the courage to make your culture-defying decision. Most people spend their whole life treading familiar grounds. I imagine BAM to be your comfort zone, and it takes guts to venture out of your comfort zone.
I am convinced that this is not a decision taken lightly, but one that was born from careful thought and consideration.
I wish more people have your courage.
We’ve heard the BAM president, Norza Zakaria’s side of the story, “He couldn’t take the pressure and wants to achieve his dreams at his own pace.”
Nonetheless, I suspect that we average Malaysian don’t know the full story. There are likely sordid details behind the scenes, that, to quote Sharmila Ganesan and Lee Chwi Lynn of BFM’s Inside Story, “Information we will only learn about in a book 20 years from now.”
Lee Chong Wei chose his own path by staying in BAM, and you will travel your own path. Different doesn’t mean better; different doesn’t mean worse.
The pressure you face is something I (and most of Malaysia) cannot relate to, so I will not cheapen your experience by attempting to contextualise it.
Enduring pressure doesn’t necessarily make a person stronger. Sometimes, it’s just toxic. Sometimes, it’s straws on a camel’s back. The camel doesn’t become stronger. The camel is just inching closer to the breaking point. Think of how much stronger the camel would’ve been without having to deal with the trauma of carrying those straws. Choosing not to “take the pressure” is sometimes the wiser choice.
I applaud that you recognise this.
Chong Wei chose to endure the pressure in BAM, but we don’t know the psychological price he has to pay for that (hypothetically; assuming that he has). There is more than one way to do the same thing, thus you should do what’s best for yourself—whatever it takes to protect your mental health and achieve your goals.
You deserve to have autonomy, as much as you deserve to have others respect your autonomy. No matter what decisions you might make in the future, no matter where you go, may it be back to BAM or where fate takes you, you do you.
The past few days in badminton-loving Malaysia have been full of fanfare. Everybody has an opinion.
I have compiled a list of people whose opinion does not matter, thus you should pay no heed to:
- Keyboard warriors whose beer belly is practically real estate on its own
- Bureaucrats playing politics
- Anybody who does not know how it’s like to be you
- Anybody who’s not you
- Me. You really don’t have to listen to me
Here are people whose opinion matters:
- You
Your path from now on will be uphill, so you don’t need negativity in your life. Keep your circle small, and listen only to those you know have your best interest at heart.
Zii Jia, in the words of Lenny Bruce to Joan Rivers, you’re right, they’re wrong.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds. There’s still a lot of fight left in you, may it be on the court or otherwise.
All the best.
Regards,
A fan.
Chow Ping Lee is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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