Malaysians gather to welcome Faiz Subri home (Updated)

SEPANG: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has chided the critics of Penang FA footballer Mohd Faiz Subri over his English-language proficiency.
He said those who criticised Faiz over his speech had obviously never won an award at an international level.
"Those who mocked him must look at his contribution in making this country proud instead of criticizing him," Khairy said during a joint press conference with Faiz after the latter's arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Zurich, Switzerland.
Faiz speech delivered at the award last Monday had drawn mixed reaction in social media.
Speaking in front of football superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Manuel Neuer, Faiz had suavely opened his cellphone to read his text in English which some had claimed that they could not understand.
Khairy said Faiz's contribution in winning the coveted FIFA Puskas award has brought hope for Malaysian football in improving its quality.
"I would like to congratulate Faiz for this outstanding win, this is the first time a Malaysian had received such recognition,"
"It is quite rare that Malaysian football had received good news such as this, and the award proves that there is a ray of light for Malaysia football," he said.
Khairy also announced that the Youth and Sports ministry had awarded Faiz with RM100,000 for winning the Puskas Award.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also announced that they will reward Faiz with RM50,000.

After the initial crticisim, many netizen's rallied to defend Faiz with one on the twitter handle James pointing out that Faiz should be credited for at least trying to speak in English.
Many also said Faiz should be celebrated for his athleticism and not his language proficiency.
"If Faiz Subri could speak good English, probably he wouldn't be a footballer and won the (Puskas) awards," a twitter user @ooizhiyi said.
Another user @fathiahazian said "He(Faiz) won international awards.Malaysian with low class mentality still condemn him because of his English? Wowww.
Faiz who plays for Penang FA, has won the FIFA goal of the year award for his physics-defying free kick against Pahang in the Malaysian Super League (MLS).
He beat Johnath Marlone Azevedo da Silva of Brazil's Corinthians club and Daniuska Rodriguez of Venezuela, to become the first Asian footballer to win the prestigious award for the best goal of the year.
Faiz took 59.46% of the votes ahead of Marlone with 22.86%, and Rodriguez with 10.01%.
In GEORGE TOWN, hundreds of fans, led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, gave Mohd Faiz a rousing welcome upon his return to Penang.
Lim said said he felt proud with Mohd Faiz's achievement and that it was something special for everyone to celebrate.
"I feel there will be no opportunity like this, meeting and seeing a world recognised player with us.
"This is special", he said during a press conference after the arrival of Mohd Faiz at Penang International Airport (PIA) yesterday.
Lim also announced a RM50,000 reward for Mohd Faiz from the state government.
Lim hoped the cash award will lift his spirit to give the best and score more goals for Penang in the new season of the Malaysian Super League (MLS).
Mohd Faiz meanwhile said it is up to anyone who vilified him in the social media and feels that will not stop him from performing the best for his team.
"They can say anything they want, I don't care", he said.
He was commenting on the critics who mocked his inability to speak English during his winning speech at Zurich on Jan 9.