LETTER | Congratulations are in order for Leong Mun Yee who received her Datukship in conjunction with this year's Federal Territories Day.

There is no doubt the former national diver has done her part for the country by bringing home medals from events such as the World Championships, SEA, Asian and Commonwealth Games and she is well-deserving of the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah medal.

I got to know the former Olympian personally during my time as a broadcast journalist previously and know of her commitment and dedication to diving.

I could see it in her eyes that she only had one aim and it was to bring pride and honour to the country. That very same goal is shared across all our local athletes, regardless of sporting disciplines.

It is not easy being an athlete as they have to commit to rigorous training schedules. The journey to the finals of any sporting event requires a huge amount of preparation, training and sweat.

We must credit the dedication and hard work of every athlete. At times pride and honour are all one athlete takes home at the end of the day.

Hence, I would like to remind Malaysians to always cheer and support our local athletes, regardless of whether they bring home medals or not.

It would be naïve to say that there are no negative comments and jeers when our athletes do not do well in sporting meets. One only has to look at the nasty and awful comments posted on social media when our athletes do not do well at a competition.

Please do not create a negative atmosphere if things don't work out. Any win or defeat in a sports competition is still a show of skill and talent, and it must be given due honour and respect. Our athletes, in my opinion, stand for pride, unity and above all, patriotism.

It is my hope that Mun Yee’s achievement will spur more local athletes to do their best for Malaysia.

My congratulations to the other athletes who also received their respective awards in conjunction with this year's Federal Territories Day - namely Paralympic champions Abdul Latif Romly, Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi and shuttlers Aaron Chia Teng Fong and Soh Wooi Yik. They truly are the representation of Malaysia’s finest.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.