Malaysia brushes aside badminton boycott call

A top Malaysian badminton official Monday brushed aside calls by an Islamic party to boycott tournaments following a decision by the sport's world body to compel female players to wear skirts. The new rule was briefly deferred after causing an outcry among players and officials, but the Kuala Lumpur-based Badminton World Federation (BWF) said that women shuttlers would have to wear skirts or dresses from June 1. Kenny Goh, general manager of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), said it does not consider the skirt ruling a controversial issue. "At the moment we have no plans to boycott any tournaments," he told AFP. "It is not a big matter for us," Goh added. Malaysian players wear either skirts or shorts and are comfortable with their attire, he said. The opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) said the rule would discriminate against Muslim women badminton players by preventing them from taking part in top-level competition and called for a boycott. "PAS considers the rule... discriminatory as it will prevent Muslim players from competing, since exposing their flesh is against their beliefs," a youth chief in the party, Kamaruzaman Mohamad, said. "If BWF insists it will proceed with the rule, PAS urges the Badminton Association of Malaysia to boycott the Singapore Open," he added. The Li Ning Singapore Open from June 14 to 19 will be the first tournament at which female players will be banned from wearing shorts or trousers alone, although they will be allowed to wear them under a skirt. On Saturday a BWF official said that the new rule could be scrapped amid objections from China, Indonesia, India and Scandinavian countries. "There is a possibility a rule change can take place," S. Selvam, the federation's Super Series marketing manager told AFP. BWF deputy president Paisan Rangsikitpho has denied that women were being exploited but said the sport had to "differentiate the women's game", and added that the skirts did not have to be short. "It has never been the intention of the BWF to portray women as sexual objects, and nor is that what we are doing," he said.