Attacks on footballers must be stopped, says Lam Thye

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent spate of attacks against footballers must be stopped to prevent a culture of violence in the country, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

The Alliance for a Safe Community chairman said credit should be given to the police, who had been working hard to investigate in search of justice for the victims.

"We have to instil a spirit of empathy over such cases.

"It is unfortunate that while one football player is still receiving treatment for acid burns, there are people who say that the incident is a normal occurrence in football," he said in a statement on Sunday (May 12).

He was commenting on the recent attacks against three professional footballers, including Faisal Halim, who was splashed with acid.

Assaulting anyone was a criminal act and should not be considered normal, Lee said.

"Malaysian society should be more mature and more compassionate over the plight of the player (Faisal) as the injury has the potential to destroy his career," he said.

It was reported that national winger Faisal, also known as Mickey, suffered an acid attack on May 5 at a shopping mall in Kota Damansara.

The reason behind the attack was still not known.

Images of his injury went viral on social media and many netizens were left in shock that such an incident could happen to a national football player.

Prior to that, his Harimau Malaya teammate Akhyar Rashid was robbed in Kuala Terengganu the week before and suffered cuts and bruises.

Then on Tuesday (May 7), former national captain Safiq Rahim escaped unhurt after two men broke his car's rear windscreen in Johor Baru.

The 36-year-old, who plays for Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), revealed the incident on his social media account by posting a police report and a photograph of the damaged vehicle.