How Malaysia sheltered Hidilyn Diaz

In May last year, I received a message from Gang Badoy Capati, my good friend and moving light of Rock Ed Philippines, a social-development group. She is also working for Project Steady, which provides support and counseling to our athletes, especially those training for the Tokyo Olympics.

I was then living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and working as the head of School and Professor of English at the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus. Gang said that Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz was in KL and Gang wanted us, the Filipinos there, to touch base with her and take care of her.

So Gang formed a messenger group and we communicated with Hidilyn through that chat group. We could not meet because of the strict lockdown in Malaysia. We asked Hidilyn how she was and how we could help her. We gave her our mobile phone numbers and email addresses, and told her to just holler if she needed any help.

Hidilyn said that she was doing OK but worried that because of the lockdown, her coach from China and the rest of her training team from the Philippines could not enter Malaysia. All the borders were then sealed.

She arrived in Malaysia in January because her coach said she needed to train in another country to save her from the distractions back home. She had already trained in China and Taiwan earlier, and planned to train in Malaysia for three months.

Exile, then and now, for artists and athletes, is one way to polish their craft and skills. One of Hidilyn’s distractions, I would presume, is her inclusion in the matrix of alleged anti-Duterte personalities that so vexed Hidilyn, leading her to fear for her life and that of her family’s as well.

And so she flew to a country that is so near yet so far from her native city of Zamboanga. She used to train at various venues, including the Desa Pandan Sports Complex and the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil, until the strict lockdown began in March.

But Hidilyn was not one to waste time. She trained by using gallons of water attached to both ends of a bamboo pole. She also gave online classes and sent the money to Zamboanga, for food packs that were given to her town mates. When her coach arrived, they had incline sprints up the driveway of a mall parking lot nearby. She then reached out to Ahmad Janius Abdullah, the 50-year-old deputy president of the Malaysian Weightlifting Association. She had met him earlier at Rio de Janeiro, and common friends introduced them. When Tun Ahmad learnt that Hidilyn was in Kuala Lumpur, he later brought barbells for her so she could train. She was very careful in lifting the weights, because she was living in a condo with a tiled floor!

Later, after the second lockdown was over in Malaysia and her team was complete, Tun Ahmad offered the use of his parents’ residence in rural Melaka so that Hidilyn could train in a bigger space. The house was located in Kampung (village) Kesang Tua in Jasin, Melaka. Hidilyn stayed there from September 16, 2020, until she left for Tokyo in July 2021.

Tun Ahmad did not only offer the hospitality of his parental residence. He also helped train her. He admired the 30-year-old Filipina’s determination, focus and burning ambition to win an Olympic gold medal. He added that his decision to help the lifter from Zamboanga City, who won the gold medal in the women’s 55kg class, was “based on the spirit of sportsmanship and good ties between both countries.”

In centuries past, Nusantara was the collective name of the pagan and Islamic kingdoms that now comprise Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. We were racially and genetically linked. When I lived in Malaysia for four years, I was often mistaken for Malay with Chinese roots. It is just serendipitous that after hundreds of years, Malaysia would help the Philippines – its nearest neighbor – get its first Olympic gold.

Hidilyn stayed at Teratak Muhammedar. Noted her Malaysian foster father: “Hidi is very fastidious and will ensure that every training equipment and the facility is in proper condition and arranged accordingly, including the smallest details. She always says that she wants to win the Olympic gold medal and she diligently undergoes her training routine from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, apart from focusing on her online studies at night.”

Malaysia sits squarely on the equator, which is why it is very hot. And Melaka is right on the spot where the equator is. That is why Hidilyn could only train up to 1 p.m. She needed to take a break from her training in the big garage fringed by banana trees. The sun would blaze down on Malaysia from 1 to 5 p.m. And when the clock struck five, the gritty and determined Hidilyn continued her training, until it was time for dinner at seven.

Tun Ahmad also described Hidi, who made her fourth Olympic appearance at the Tokyo Games, as a highly disciplined athlete, especially when it came to her food and training, adding that she would measure every portion of her food intake. He also drove Hidi and her team to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to catch a flight to Tokyo for the Olympics on July 18.

“My relationship with Hidi is like that of a father and daughter. Although she calls me ‘sir,’ I always ensure that all her needs in the house are sufficient. I also advised her to do her best in the snatch discipline, as that’s her weakness. I’m glad she took it seriously and performed excellently to bag the gold,” he said.

The foster father is rightfully proud that Hidi won the gold. Moreover, he was touched that although Hidi received widespread acclaim and worldwide coverage, she never forgot to call them at Teratak Muhammedar and Malaysia right after bagging the gold. She was effusive with gratitude.

He added that our Olympics golden girl, who loves to eat “Asam Pedas Melaka” and “durian IOI,” will return to Melaka in the near future.

Terima kasih, Malaysia, thank you, and indeed you prove that Malaysia boleh. Malaysia can.

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Email: [email protected] Danton Remoto’s novel, Riverrun, has just been published by Penguin Books.