Malaysiakini : But Fifa’s findings speak volumes. The global football body confirmed that seven foreign players were registered using forged documents.
FAM even requested Fifa to halt the investigation, dismiss the complaint as unfounded, and, if punishment was unavoidable, impose only a mild economic fine or admonition.
The irony? Despite the forgery, FAM still wanted Fifa to confirm the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia in future matches.
Govt complicit
The government is complicit in this scandal. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s defence that “due process” was followed collapses under Fifa’s findings.
The global body proved the players' grandparents were never born or domiciled in Malaysia, directly contradicting the “authentic” documents the government claims to have vetted.
Saifuddin had assured FAM that it had nothing to fear, as long as procedures followed existing laws. But how do you defend a process when Fifa discovered that none of the players’ grandparents were born or domiciled in Malaysia?
Saifuddin insists that citizenship was granted after thorough vetting under Article 19(1) of the Federal Constitution, which considers ancestral ties to Malaysia. He claims the process was rigorous, chaired by the chief secretary, and based on submitted documents.
But are we, the citizens, expected to believe that these documents were authentic - and that the committee didn’t even interview the applicants to assess their knowledge of Malay, as required?
Stark discrepancies
According to National Registration Department (NRD) director Badrul Hisham Alias, the players submitted documents listing their grandparents’ details. NRD conducted cross-verification and received supporting documents from Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
However, original handwritten birth records couldn’t be retrieved. Instead, official copies were issued based on secondary evidence.
Fifa’s investigation, however, uncovered the original birth certificates. Not one of the grandparents was born in Malaysia. The discrepancies between FAM’s claims and Fifa’s findings are stark.
Conclusion: None of the seven footballers registered as Malaysian players had any direct ancestral links to the country.
This scandal isn’t just about football. It’s about integrity, accountability, and the erosion of public trust. When institutions - sporting and government - collude to fabricate identities for short-term gain, the damage goes far beyond the pitch.
It strikes at the heart of what citizenship means and how it should be earned.
Malaysia deserves better. And Malaysians deserve answers.
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