Salleh: Emulate patriotic spirit of legendary 1980's football squad

KUALA LUMPUR: Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak (pix) said the people should emulate the patriotic spirit and understanding displayed by the national football squad of 1980's.
He said the love for the country had proved to be the contributing factor for the success in the team's many endeavours.
"We have to learn from them as it is not easy to build a team, each individual in the squad having their respective roles. From their diverse backgrounds, they could build on their capabilities as a team and succeed.
"As such we need to forget our differences. What is important is the objective to ensure our success together apart from respecting the leader," he said when launching '1980 Harimau Malaya Documentary' here today.
Also present were several of the 1980's national football team members, namely Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Hasan Sani, James Wong and Santokh Singh.
The documentary produced by Astro is expected to be aired on Sept 16 in conjunction with Malaysia Day and also in recognition of the 'Dream Team' which qualified for 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
The story on the 1980 national football squad would be telecast via channel 801 or 802 HD or SuperSport 810 (831 HD) and Astro on the Go at 9pm.
Salleh said the team not only displayed their best performances for the country, it in fact proved differences in the squad were not an obstacle for them to bring honours to the country in the football arena at the international level.
"I am proud the players gave their best in the name of the country and not as individuals. This is true patriotic spirit," he said.
On the documentary, Salleh said it was a commendable effort which could be a material for reference or inspiration to the younger generation.
He said the programme documented the trials and tribulations of the national team in winning the coveted slot to the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
"The story of the documentary reminded us that the responsibility to foster unity among Malaysians of various cultures, ethnics and languages is a joint effort by all," he said. — Bernama