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Rafidah recalls good old ‘Ola Bola’ days

Although she has yet to watch the movie, Umno veteran Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz reminisced about how she grew up in the good old days of “Ola Bola”, when Malaysians of all races lived in peace and harmony. In her latest Facebook post, the former international trade and industry minister recalled the times the country would come together to cheer the national football team, without being aware of their race. “It was nation first and sports was something that brought cohesiveness amongst us. “A time when we were not all aware we were of different keturunan or ancestry, ‘Rafidah’ was just that... as was ‘Kam Who’ and ‘Jeya’ and ‘Pak Bee’. “We were just the youths of our country,” she said. Rafidah said during the different festivals, they went in groups to each other’s houses. “It was blissful to have no hangups about our multiracial society. “And we respected each other’s religion and sensitivities. “No one injected into our lives the notion of being different.” “Ola Bola”, which premiered on January 28, was based on the true story of how the national football team was able to overcome the odds and defeat South Korea in a pre-Olympic qualifying match in 1980. Directed by Chiu Keng Guan, the movie reportedly collected RM8 million after 13 days. Rafidah added that in those days, even schools treated them as equals, where all had the same uniform. She said this nurtured a sense of belonging to a larger society beyond school. She added that it was heartening to note that many young Malaysians have a sense of belonging to the country and empathetic with what was happening around them. As such, Rafidah expressed hope that this sense of belonging would motivate the youngsters of today to be better than those before them in every aspect. “To do what it takes to be the Malaysia that the world can respect, add value to the nation. “And strengthen the bonds of friendship, that must be the starting point of multiracial Malaysia’s resilience and continued growth with harmony.” – February 14, 2016.