KUALA LUMPUR — National winger Safawi Rasid has insisted that his decision to leave the Harimau Malaya camp in China was not without reason.
The Kuching City FC player took to Threads to address questions surrounding his unexpected return to Malaysia, which came just a day before the national team face world number 96 China tomorrow in a friendly match.
Safawi maintained that his decision was not made lightly, but stopped short of revealing the full circumstances behind his departure, citing matters that he could not publicly disclose.
“I did not leave the Malaysian camp without a reason. There are things I can talk about and others that I cannot. Throughout my career, I have never turned down a call-up to represent Malaysia.
“Wearing the black and yellow jersey is a matter of pride for me,” he wrote.
Safawi was reported to have left the national squad after arriving in China on Tuesday, returning home to attend to family matters.
His sudden departure presents another challenge for interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe, who had viewed the winger as one of his key attacking options, particularly with Arif Aiman Hanapi not included in the squad and Faisal Halim sidelined through injury.
Cheng Hoe had already suffered a major setback on Monday, a day before the team’s departure for China, when six of the seven Selangor players called up withdrew due to injury concerns.
The players were midfielder Nooa Laine, goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, Ahmad Zikri Khalili, A Selvan, Syahir Bashah and Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar.
The withdrawals forced Cheng Hoe to bring in five replacements, namely Suhaimi Husin, Safwan Mazlan, Dominic Tan, Ariff Farhan Md Is and Syafiq Ahmad.
Earlier, Cheng Hoe had opted against including several Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) stars, including Bergson Da Silva, Arif Aiman, Brad Tapp, Manuel Hidalgo, Stuart Wilkin and La’Vere Corbin-Ong, to allow the club to cope with its congested fixture schedule.
The decision attracted criticism from sections of the football fraternity and supporters, particularly given that several of those players had played important roles in Malaysia’s third-place finish at the FIFA Asean Cup, where the national side remained unbeaten and did not concede a goal.
Following their meeting with China, Malaysia will take on world number 144 Yemen on Tuesday, with both fixtures scheduled to take place at the Zhaoqing New District Sports Centre in Guangdong, China. – November 13, 2026