KUALA LUMPUR: The design of the Malaysian contingent's attire for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has elicited mixed reactions among social media users.
Many praised the gold-hued attire featuring Baju Kurung complete with a headscarf for female athletes and Baju Melayu Teluk Belanga for their male counterparts when it was first revealed to the public two days ago.
However, some social media users expected more since the attire was designed by the celebrated designer Rizman Ruzaini, despite it being a major improvement from the initial design of the attire, which was met with disapproval last month.
"Congratulations... Looks nice... as Malaysian, we must be proud of this," said X user @Mohd Farid.
Sharing his sentiments was another social media user @Adrian, who said: "Very nice indeed. Hope we get the gold medals too."
Facebook user, Si Pojie, said he is proud of the attire and hopes that the Malaysian contingent could win their first gold.
The olive-green attire with golden motifs, however, failed to impress Facebook user Nisha Ismail, who found the color to be a bit drab.
Another Facebook user, Dato Ahmad Shafrie Maslim, agreed with Nisha, saying the attire lacked festiveness.
Some found amusement at the sight of the traditional attire, typically worn for Hari Raya, against the backdrop of the Parisian cityscape.
According to Rizman Ruzaini, the costume, named 'The Malaya' pays homage to pre-independence warriors.
"The Baju Teluk Belanga meanwhile was chosen as a symbol of respect for the newly installed King, (His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim), who is from Johor.
"This collection is an inspiration, (which) we wish to dedicate to our national heroes such as Datuk Maharajalela, Dol Said, Yamtuan Antah, Datuk Bahaman, Abdul Rahman Limbong, Tok Janggut, Mat Kilau and Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
"We specially chose the olive green colour with golden motives, which when seen under the light will appear golden, giving the athletes a sense of motivation to bring back the Gold Medal for Malaysia," said creative director Ruzaini Jamil.
Ruzaini added colours selected such as browns and olive green evoke a classic aura and are 'very intimate to Asian skin'.