Why PR professionals were not a fan of Hannah Yeoh's Olympics fangirl post

Malaysia's youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh is currently the centre of netizens' attention following her recent Instagram post with Thai badminton Olympian Kunlavut Vitidsarn. 

On 7 August, the minister posted pictures of herself and the athlete who won silver in the Olympic games. Her caption congratulated the Thai athlete for his win and shared that she "enjoy[ed] his style of badminton so much". 

Yeoh went on to compliment Vitidsarn for being "calm and collected" and said that "he has a new fan" in her. Vitidsarn had beat Malaysian athlete Lee Zii Jia in the semi-finals of the men's singles badminton match a few days prior. 

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In the Instagram comment section seen by A+M, a netizen said that it is not the right time to show herself fangirling over other players. Another user said that Yeoh should remember that her official duty at the Paris Games is for the betterment of the country. 

In response to the comments, Yeoh took to Instagram stories to say that her task as minister is not about winning at all costs but to "instil a healthy sporting culture for our youth". 

"We are not sore losers. There is nothing insensitive about acknowledging our rival's strength after the competition," added Yeoh. 

She explained that her quote was in response to Vitidsarn when he beat China's Shi Yuqi by 21-12 and then 21-10. 

The minister told her critics to understand the Olympic values of respect and friendship and said that sportsmanship is about accepting loss when all is fair. She added that it is also being able to acknowledge your rivals in a respectful manner. 

She compared it to how she had congratulated Malaysian coaches Tan Kim Her and Jeremy Gan when their Japanese athletes won. 

"I am consistent about practising good sportsmanship and I represent Malaysia. Be honourable even when we lose," said Yeoh. 

She added that that "sports teach us invaluable lessons about life and this is why parents must encourage children to do sports. They become stronger when they practise good sportsmanship." 

According to media intelligence firm CARMA, netizens have displayed mixed feelings about the situation, with conversations being 15.7% positive, 19.9% negative and 64.4% neutral. 

CARMA added that some netizens are defending Yeoh's actions as a sign of good sportsmanship, while others see it as a lack of patriotism and sensitivity towards local athletes.

Stanley Clement, CEO of MBCS, is of the opinion that Malaysians are taking this issue way too far. "Our minister has been a strong supporter of all our Malaysian athletes and been there through their ups and downs. We also need to remember that the minister as an individual has the right to interact with others, and this does not mean that she is celebrating them more than our Malaysian athletes or shirking her duties in any way," said Clement. 

He adds that as a minister, it’s important to maintain harmonious relations with other countries, especially  immediate ASEAN counterparts. "Showing encouragement to other sports men and women is a positive sign and a true reflection of what the Olympics is all about. It’s the spirit of sportsmanship. We celebrate one and all. We are, after all, global citizens," added Clement. 

Jonathan Tan, founder and managing director of VoxEureka agrees that Yeoh has "always come across as honest, transparent, and humble". He added that "no one doubts her intentions" as she has genuinely reflected the Olympic spirit of sportsmanship, unity, and healthy competition. 

However, a key aspect of communication is knowing your audience and how to read the room, said Tan.

"Yeoh might have been a bit naive to think that a personal congratulatory note wouldn't stir the pot. Congratulating Vitidsarn as a footnote in her post to Lee would’ve been enough. The fangirl tone in her post was unfortunately ill-timed," said Tan, adding:

Even if that's her personal feeling, she has to draw the line between personal and professional expression on social media.

While most Malaysians appreciated the athletes' efforts, there’s also underlying criticism about the Olympic entourage such as the OCM president bringing his family, or Malaysian badminton player Goh Jin Wei traveling without a coach, added Tan.

According to Tan, if Yeoh's team had monitored the reaction to her earlier Instagram post about Lee, they would have seen the negativity in the comments.

"When you’re perceived as not fully focusing on your primary job, gestures such as international relations can quickly take a backseat," explained Tan, adding:

In the world of social media, every communicator has the power to control their narrative. While her post congratulating Vitidsarn was a "nice touch," it’s one she could have skipped given the circumstances. 

Syed Mohammed Idid, general manager, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement of West Coast Expressway and deputy chairman of the Public Relations PRactioners Society of Malaysia agrees, adding that using words such as "fan" reduces her stature and intellect to the extent of being cognisant of the prevailing political nuances. 

He added that sentiments about the Olympics in Malaysia right now are "shattered". According to Syed, there were many red flags regarding the Olympics and the Malaysian troops, alluding to the Olympic attire reveal mishap that took place earlier in June. 

With regards to the post, Syed said that "there is a good number of people who felt that the picture was a bit tone deaf". 

On the other hand, Yeoh's post could also be seen as a "stroke of genius to build optics", said Syed. This is especially since Malaysia has received the chairmanship for ASEAN starting next year. The chairmanship will last for the next two years. 

The post showed that while Yeoh is the minister for Malaysia, she is magnanimous enough to embrace her fellow ASEAN who did well, explained Syed.

He added that many commented on social media that it wasn't that the Thai player won, it was just that our Malaysian player didn't play well enough and lost.

If he was Yeoh's PR officer or counsellor, Syed said he would have cautioned Yeoh to be a bit more aware of the prevailing things that have been happening with the contingent. He would also advise her to be more cautious of the things she posts online, adding that: 

The Olympics is a very high eyeball event. All eyes are on you, so you need to tread very, very carefully, cautiously and intelligently.

"I don't know whether she checks what content is being written and posted and agrees on it, or she's empowered by her team but I would say it's better to err on the side of caution," said Syed.

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