Razer CEO Had To Defend His RM10Mil eSports Pledge Because Some Singaporeans Got "Salty"
The Singaporean entrepreneur announced that he will be matching the Malaysian government's RM10 million investment in eSports following the tabling of its allocation in Budget 2019.
By Samantha Khor — 05 Nov 2018, 03:11 PM
Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan has clapped back at "salty" haters who accused him of neglecting his own country after he pledged to invest RM10 million in Malaysia's eSports scene
In a tweet to Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq, the Singaporean entrepreneur announced that he will be matching the RM10 million allocated to eSports development under Budget 2019
His announcement was largely met with positive reactions from Malaysians, both from within and outside of the gaming community
However, Tan - who still holds a Singaporean citizenship - later revealed that he received "a slew of abusive messages" accusing him of neglecting the eSports scene in Singapore following the announcement
In response to his critics, Tan wrote in a Facebook post that the San Francisco-based gaming hardware company is "probably one of the biggest supporters of eSports in Singapore", having sponsored Hyperplay, the SEA Majors, and PVP in 2018 alone.
Tan added that Razer has been supporting Singaporean eSports athletes like professional gamer Xian (who is part of Team Razer) for years and that the company has hundreds of employees in Singapore, some of whom are specifically focused on eSports development.
"I suspect we might actually be the biggest employers of esports professionals in Singapore," he wrote.
Wrapping up his response, Tan said that his investment in Malaysia's eSports industry is "a good thing for the entire community", adding that the company will continue to invest in eSports "in Singapore and the rest of the world"
"So instead of being abusive - we should be celebrating the fact that we will be seeing the growth of eSports in the region and we, at Razer, are committed to spearheading it."
You can read his full post here.