Hannah Yeoh under fire again, this time for 'fan girl' pose with Thai shuttler who beat Malaysia

Social media users have criticised Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for praising Thai badminton player Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who beat national shuttler Lee Zii Jia at the Paris Olympics.

Yeoh, who is accompanying the Malaysian athletes in Paris, uploaded photos of herself and Vitidsarn on Instagram, which sparked a series of comments reminding her why she was at the Olympics.

Vitidsarn had beaten Jii Zia in the semi-finals of the men’s singles, but then lost to Denmark's Viktor Axelson in the final, which earned him second place and the silver medal.

"Congratulations @kunlavut.v for winning silver in Paris 2024. I enjoy his style of badminton so much. So calm and collected. He has a new fan in me!" Yeoh wrote in an Instagram post, accompanied by pictures of her posing with the Thai star.

"Tone deaf minister," came a response from Instagram user @aijklmnop123. "Your athlete who fought for the country just came out saying the loss was devastating for him and here you're celebrating the man who crushed his dream. What an excellent sports minister you are, never voting for this person again."

User lance_v_ks advised Yeoh: "You should keep this to yourself and your family. This is insensitive."

Meanwhile, vocal DAP critic Shamsher Singh Thind reminded Yeoh of her official duty in Paris.

"Hannah Yeoh, you are in Paris on an official duty (whatever that is), and not to take photos with the athletes there, especially those who knocked out our athletes. What rubbish you are his fan?" wrote Shamsher, who was previously accused by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission of "bullying" Yeoh for his post questioning the Selangor government's decision to award a contract to a company run by the DAP leader's husband.

Shamser said Yeoh should instead pay for the trip to Paris herself, adding that her post was "childish".

A popular Facebook discussion page called Malaysian Chinese News labelled Yeoh as "shameless".

"People are ranting about her incompetence and she has the audacity to post something like this? She's celebrating our rival and acting like a fan girl.

"You are going there to work, not to be a fan for our rival country," it said.

Meanwhile, @Shahifahsharil said the criticism was not about the spirit of sportsmanship, as Yeoh travelled there in her capacity as the minister in charge of the national athletes.

"Be a fan, do what you like, but keep it low and private maybe? Wasn’t that hard."

Many Instagram users, like @Zarulzahem, said Yeoh was out of line, adding that there should be "a sense of respect for the national team".

A total of 26 Malaysian athletes are competing in 11 sports at this year's Olympics.

Malaysia has secured two bronze medals, both in the badminton singles and men's doubles.

Earlier, Olympic Council Malaysia president Mohamad Norza Zakaria had come under fire after he was spotted with his wife and son at one of the games, despite a limited quota on coaches and supporting staff, including women's badminton coach Nova Armada who was unable to accompany shuttler Goh Jin Wei to Paris.