SINGAPORE - Razer is committed to spearheading the growth of eSports in the region, said its co-founder and chief executive Tan Min-Liang in a Facebook post.

Mr Tan defended his commitment to invest RM10 million (S$3.3 million) in Malaysian eSports, which has drawn criticism from Singaporean netizens for not contributing to the local eSports scene.

The Razer CEO's investment commitment followed Malaysia's Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng's Budget 2019 speech, where he announced that the Malaysian government was allocating RM10 million to the Malaysian Digital Economy for eSports.

Mr Tan said in a tweet on Friday (Nov 2) that it was an "incredibly progressive budget for Malaysia" and expressed his commitment to "bring eSports to the next level".

In his Facebook post on Saturday, he said: "After my commitment to invest MYR10M into Malaysian esports in 2019, I got a slew of abusive messages saying we don't do anything for esports in Singapore."

He pointed out that Razer is "probably one of the biggest supporters of eSports in Singapore", noting that the gaming hardware company sponsored eSports competitions Hyperplay, the SEA Majors and the PVP eSports Championships this year.

Razer has also been active in supporting local eSports athletes like Ho Kun Xian, a professional Street Fighter gamer, he said.

Razer has hundreds of employees in Singapore, some of whom were hired for eSports specifically, he said, adding that Razer would continue to invest in eSports in Singapore and the rest of the world.

"My investment in Malaysian eSports is a good thing for the entire community, and Singaporeans should be happy that the entire region is going to grow in eSports," he wrote.

"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."