FEATURE – The ‘Barmy Army’ of badminton

It isn’t what it used to be, but the atmophere of a major badminton tournament in Malaysia can still be beyond an Indian fan’s wildest imagination. With home favourite Lee Chong Wei playing good friend and longtime rival Taufik Hidayat in the Malaysia Open Super Series final on Sunday, the 15,000-capacity Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil was the scene of a raucous, celebratory crowd that exploded everytime the world No.1 Malaysian won a point.

By Dev S Sukumar/ DNA. Kuala Lumpur. Photos : Rights reserved.

Leading the cheering for the home crowd was a group called ‘Famemas’ that accompanies the Malaysian national team on several tournaments through the year, including the majors such as the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Thomas/ Uber Cup and the SEA Games. Famemas has 500 members, and they often organise get-togethers and charity events apart from their main business of backing their team at home and overseas tournaments.

Belonging to different social backgrounds, members of the group see badminton as a uniting factor for a country whose people mostly belong to three races — Malay, Chinese and Indian. “The beauty of this group is that it encompasses people of all races, ages and walks of life,” says its chairman, Lee Hui Seng. “Our main objective is to provide support for our athletes and give them additional mental support.” Apart from badminton, the group cheers the national football, squash, cycling, TT and swimming teams. Founded in 2001, they are now recognised as the ‘official’ supporters of the national teams, and stars like Lee Chong Wei and Nicol David even participate in their charity events.

Famemas claims to be the only organised cheering group in South East Asia. The group often travels 40 or 50-strong to events abroad, and individual members sometimes get sponsored by private companies. For the most part, they pay their own tab, taking time off from their jobs and families, and travelling to around 10 tournaments each year.

The group has many colourful characters. The foremost among them is Mansor bin Abdul Khoni, 52, who keeps the crowd entertained with his exhortations. Khoni has accompanied the team for 20 years, and is so popular that a top badminton equipment company even sponsored his travels.

“He’s my icon,” says fellow-supporter Jason Thiang. Clearly, for some, even cheerleading has its role models.