And remember, this is the prime minister who, when he was the leader of the opposition in 2013, said that the position in Islam was that conversion could only occur with the consent of the mother.

As reported in the press, “There’s a specific case where the Prophet Muhammad sent a child back to the mother because the mother did not convert to Islam and only the father did so.”

When former law minister Zaid Ibrahim warns non-Muslims, “there are going to be more”, this is exactly the agenda of the deep Islamic state.

Make no mistake, if Madani or any other government wanted to correct this cruelty in the legal system, they could. However, cruelty is the point of supremacy. What is the use of supremacy if you cannot demonstrate its power?

And what is the state doing but demonstrating its power over Indira and those who support her? What is it doing by keeping a mother from her child? What is it doing by brazenly ignoring the order of the civil courts?

What is it doing by putting forward narratives that muddy the waters and stir racial and religious sentiment? What is it doing by galvanising religious sentiment online against this Hindu mother by refusing to perform its legal obligations?

The state security apparatus has ignored judgments from the judicial branch and has let a child kidnapper escape the course of justice. And why do you think this is? Well, because they understand that the only people who could sanction such behaviour are the political class.

In other words, they understand that they are free from the repercussions that the ordinary rakyat are subject to if they break the law. It is as simple as that.

Collapse of police credibility

Can anyone trust anything the inspector-general of police (IGP) says now? When conniving political operatives (BN, then Pakatan Harapan) tell us to trust the investigation, can anyone take them seriously? You do understand what this means, right?

Now, when a Muslim convert or a Muslim kidnapper kidnaps his or her child, what he or she has is precedent that the state security apparatus will do everything in their power to see to it that the crime results in a “happy ending” or where the child is never rescued.

Indira’s ex-husband, Riduan Abdullah, has successfully, with the aid of fellow travellers in the deep Islamic state, evaded the Royal Malaysia Police for years, outfoxed god knows how many IGPs, made the state security apparatus look like bungling, insipid keystone cops, and of course, now he has to deal with an IGP who behaves as if this is a new case.

Riduan even outlasted various changes in government, which no doubt shows him that he is beyond the reach of any form of government. It would not surprise me if there are average citizens conspiring to keep this child within Islam.

I do not think these people consider Riduan as some sort of religious martyr, but rather, they believe that Indira’s daughter belongs to them and their faith.

Rational Malaysians, whatever their religious beliefs, have to ask, why are fellow travellers of the deep Islamic state so invested in seeing that Indira is not reunited with Prasana?

What these theocrats-in-waiting and their factotums want to demonstrate is that religious supremacy trumps everything. Civil laws, the political class, the state security apparatus, and various pressure groups.

But most importantly, and this is the critical part, the love of a mother for her child.

1. No one crosses majority line

At this juncture, it remains clear that no one coalition and party will win an outright majority of 37 seats. The Sabah government appears highly likely to be formed through post-coalition deal-making.

This will empower elites in power and likely create new alliances that will divide the Madani coalition. Sabah polls have already strained relations within the governing coalition, and this is likely to continue.

2. No big Warisan wave: Below the wind

Despite the hype of winning the government and a surge of support in urban areas for Warisan, this party is not likely to have enough seats to form a government on its own.

In fact, it may be the second contender, depending on whether it receives a last-minute boost in support outside of urban areas.

Warisan has significant gaps in winning some seats in the east coast, the north and the west coast of Sabah. It does not have the same momentum that it had in 2018 across the state as a whole, although its core supporters are more enthusiastic and hopeful of victory than ever.

The test for Warisan will be whether (and if so, how many) it wins over its 2020 result, when it won 23 seats.

3. GRS remains strong: Staying with safety

Hajiji Noor’s incumbent coalition remains strong with a combination of stalwarts and resources. With the support of Parti Bersatu Sabah, GRS has always been an underrated contender in these polls. After PKR, GRS has the most money in the 17th Sabah election, and it has made Umno’s machinery of the past its own.

GRS should win over 20 seats, if its money continues to go to the ground. If this happens, GRS may reach over the 30 mark.

Yet, the driver of the support from below is one of safety, rather than adoration. Voters who support GRS support it because they see it as what they know, and modest improvements.

They also often have greater trust in the local candidates, who are also well known. The adage “the devil you know is better than you don’t” rings true, although many see the popular GRS local candidates, such as Ghulamhaidar @ Yusof bin Khan Bahadar in Kawang and Masidi Manjun in Karaanan, as more of a potential rescuer for times of need.

Realities of survival and vulnerability reinforce support for a status quo, especially when that status quo is cloaked in the “local party” branding.

4. Damaged Harapan: Red anger

The campaign has been the most heated against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose trust deficit among voters has been on display. Harapan will be hurt in this election, not least from the fact that it has already split, and the exit door has opened.

The circumstances that pushed Ewon out should have been avoided of the 40 percent revenue payment, and the “colonial” rebukes by peninsula leaders abstained from.

The subsequent political scandal, reportedly tying PKR to the mining scandal, has only eroded trust in Harapan further.

DAP should win some seats, based on performance delivery and likeability of the candidate - but the last-minute anger over corruption/silence over reforms and overeager defences of alienating comments about Sabah rights have seriously hurt the party.

PKR has adopted the honed practices of Malaysian incumbent power and is using resources from multimedia to other state departments, repeatedly pushing its control of federal power in the campaign.

In fact, in many of the constituencies PKR is contesting, there is a “red flood” that is bigger than BN and PN's resource campaigns of the past, tied to the levers of being in power.

This may give PKR a chance in seats like Merotai (where Anwar visited three times), Kamarunting and Inanam, but trust in Anwar has dropped considerably, replaced in many cases by an outright “tolak” (reject) push.

5. Reduced BN: Steady but eroded support

Umno-BN is fighting for its political life in Sabah. The state has long been an integral part of Umno’s national strength and, in turn, Umno has been an integral part of the state since its entry in 1994.

BN lacks the resources of the past and has been more focused in its outreach due to less resources. It has opted for a steady, ground candidate-centred (but uneven) campaign, hoping that a renewal of its candidates and efforts to strengthen its engagement around “buat kerja” (do work) and representing its traditional core supporters will yield results.

The last few days of this campaign will be instrumental for BN, which looks to reduce its seats from the 14 it won in 2020. If things go BN’s way it could win 20, but it looks more likely to win less than 10 seats.

If the money tide turns against them, BN could win less than even five seats. Here too, BN’s machinery will be critical if it can bring out their traditional voters in what is expected to be challenging weather tomorrow.

6. Expect the unexpected underdog

The uncertainty around the poll points to the emergence of smaller political forces. Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Upko, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), Black Wave and PN are all underdogs in this campaign, although in particular seats some of these parties are favoured.

Good examples are Ewon in Kadamaian and Wetrom Bahanda in Matunggong.

All of these parties should win at least one seat, with the exception of PN. PAS has a chance in both Karambunai and Balung, largely due to their social media and stealth (look like Sabahans, not traditional PAS members) campaigns.

Bersatu’s Ronald Kiandee in Sugut and Labuk cannot be ruled out, but these areas have been GRS bombed with resources multiple times.

PN faces a test to see if they are a national opposition/coalition and have tapped into youth support with targeted resources, despite challenges. Sabah has been difficult terrain for these parties since the end of the Muhyiddin Yassin Bersatu-led government.

Upko, Star, KDM and the Black Wave have all been working to win support, especially among Kadazan-Dusun-Murut-Rungus voters. Upko and Star have had the best narratives, both relying on sentiment with limited resources, while KDM and Black Wave have been primarily candidate-based with flush resources from unknown sources.

Three Independents to watch are Fairuz Redden in Pintasan, Verdon Bahanda in Tanjong Kapor and Jordan Ellron in Tulid.

Sabah always brings surprises. No question some of these underdog smaller parties/individuals will win seats, and they will be pivotal in whichever coalition/party is able to form government.

The campaign is coming down to the wire. My overview – based on ground fieldwork and an appreciation of uncertainties (money/machinery flow) as of this morning shows more than a third of the seats too close/uncertain to call.

Among the 27 uncertain seats are Bandau, Tamparuli, Tanjong Kapor, Paginatan, Bingkor, Karambunai, Petagas, Pantai Manis, Sindumin, Kukusan, Melalap, Sungai Sibuga, Sekong, to name just a few of these.

This uncertain group is where the balance of power will swing, to which party/coalition will have the most seats to negotiate from.

Discussions about alliances have been underway and likely will intensify after tomorrow. For now, however, the balance of power will be in the hands of Sabahans.

Until the end of polling tomorrow, after which the men will sing, Sabahans have more power to determine the outcome than ever. Every vote will count in these contests, especially in the swing, uncertain seats.

Whatever happens, however, one message will be clear. Sabahans want more power, local voices and representation. Whoever will be the ones entrusted to deliver on this message remains uncertain.

After the event, one of Liew’s aides, a former journalist, explained it. To those on the East Coast, this is not an explosive issue. It is the West Coast and interior that react strongly.

The reasons are straightforward.

Undocumented migration is part of everyday life in Tawau, Semporna and Lahad Datu. Late birth registrations are common. Borders remain porous. Enforcement is uneven.

Communities have, by necessity, learned to live alongside people whose identities and documents do not always fit neatly into official categories.

Neighbours become colleagues. Colleagues become relatives by marriage. The fear that dominates conversations elsewhere is not present here. Accommodation, not alarm, shapes the ground sentiment.

This is also why videos of “PTI sightings” that go viral in Kota Kinabalu or Tambunan barely move the needle in Tawau. People here have lived with the issue long enough to treat it as part of the landscape.

Where the issue is remembered, not lived

They are retold, sometimes with new details, but always with the same conclusion: “This could change us.”

Project IC refers to the long-standing allegation that identity cards were systematically issued to non-citizens in Sabah to alter the state’s demographic and electoral balance.

At the morning market, a shopkeeper recounted how he had seen “three 12-seater buses” of “PTI” coming out of a timber camp during the 2018 polls.

Whether the account is accurate or not matters less than how embedded it has become in local political memory.

In Keningau, where many youths have left for jobs in other towns, most of the narrative now comes from older residents. They rely heavily on Facebook reels, WhatsApp forwards and coffeeshop talk.

This creates a loop: old anxieties meeting new digital rumours.

Among the younger working group, the view is noticeably different. For them, undocumented migrants are not a political fear. They are workers.

Many small renovation businesses in Keningau and Tambunan hire them quietly. In close-knit villages, people know who to call when they need to fix a pipe or extend a kitchen. A former schoolmate of mine put it plainly: cutting out the middleman makes the work cheaper and faster.

To the younger locals, the undocumented migrants are part of the local economy.

To the older generation, they are part of a political fear that never fully disappeared.

Two realities, one state election

These opposing experiences, tolerance on the East Coast and anxiety in the interior, explain why undocumented migration remains both a sensitive and unavoidable issue.

The reliance is real.

Plantations, construction sites and even household repairs depend on them. At the same time, the fear is also real, sustained by older political narratives and shared widely on social media.

This duality puts candidates in a complicated position. A line that earns applause in Tawau could be damaging in Tambunan. Parties know this. They adjust their messaging accordingly.

As Sabah approaches polling day on Nov 29, video clips and forwarded messages about undocumented migrants continue to circulate. For now, most are aimed at Warisan, a repeat of what happened during the Kimanis by-election.

But no matter who wins, the next government will inherit the same problem that governments before it have struggled to solve. The issue is too old to disappear overnight and too complicated to treat as a simple political slogan.

Sabah’s migrant question has never been one story.

It is two different realities shaped by geography, memory and circumstance. This election will not settle the debate, but it will show how deeply it still shapes the way Sabahans think about power, identity and the future of their state.

What exactly has she been doing besides attempting to deflect on behalf of Madani?

She is hoping the DAP base will turn a blind eye, but if her ministry were run by Umno or Perikatan Nasional, the base would be rightly questioning what her ministry’s role is in all this.

Bureaucracy continues to enable illegality

With all the corruption issues with immigration, the connective tissue always seems to be the National Registration Department and, of course, high-level political operatives.

Officials within the government bureaucracy continue to enable and protect activities which are dangerous to the defence of the realm, and of course, large sums of money are involved.

What the “heritage” players’ scandal exposes is how incompetent elements who engage in such behaviour have become.

Does anyone in the government realise how dangerous this situation is, or maybe they just do not care?

Here we have state actors forging documents, and the state, for whatever reason, going along with it.

This deals with football players, but what other documents have been forged and passed unnoticed by either the NRD or the Home Ministry?

Severe gap in national security

Who has been allowed into this country using falsified documents which passed the screening of the Home Ministry?

Think about this, the only reason why this type of institutional dysfunction has been exposed so clearly is because of the scrutiny of an international body, which, by the way, has dodgy scandals of its own.

Whenever I read about institutional dysfunction like this, I always go back to Wang Kelian.

Wang Kelian could not have happened if there was no collusion between crime syndicates, the state security apparatus, and most importantly, the political class, who were needed to facilitate and give legitimacy to a cover-up.

We are talking about high crimes perpetrated by local actors working in concert with foreign high-ranking officials.

Rational people are dismayed by this “heritage” players fiasco, but the scandal goes much deeper.

While this scandal makes for good coffee shop rants, it reveals how state actors are endangering the defence of the realm for whatever reasons, and the political class continues to enable them.

Weaponising BM

The second issue is the use of Bahasa Malaysia. For decades, the national language has been weaponised against the non-Malays.

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READ MORE: 'Heritage' players don't speak BM, but passed citizenship language test: Fifa

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Political agitators continue propagating the idea that certain people cannot speak BM adequately when the reality is that non-Malays have contributed to the economy and development of this country, even though we supposedly speak poor BM.

All this propaganda about the national language is meant to bash the non-Malay community. The fact is that whenever all these people accuse citizens of not speaking Malay properly, it is merely because they really do not have anything else to bash the non-Malays with.

This all shows that the Malay uber alles types really do not care about BM except when it comes to bashing the non-Malays.

Politicians have always used language to divide, especially along class lines, because it is easier to maintain hegemony when one side thinks that the other does not use the language of the state.

All Malaysians communicate in this language every single day. We communicate in BM, not due to a patriotic impulse but rather because this is the language that cuts through class and race.

On social media, you get agitators questioning everything from the patriotism to the national language fluency of the non-Malays. This is all part of the greater narrative of the political class, which uses language and any other issues to demonise the non-Malays.

Not for one minute do those who question the patriotism of non-Malays reflect their gaze on the behaviour of the political class and state actors, whose actions I would consider treasonous, destabilising the defence of the realm.

Here is the truth: even so-called champions of BM and state religion are willing to throw BM under the bus if it suits their agenda, like what happened in this “heritage” players’ case.

As Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said, they can understand what “we” say. Rational Malaysians understand what people like him say. We always have.

Solehah has made other frankly ridiculous claims, but what is fascinating about these claims by her and other academics is that they willfully ignore the polychromatic nature of Malay and Malaysian history.

They reimagine a historical past where the dominant community contributed to great historical narratives and was a fully formed community devoid of its multicultural baggage.

If you did some research, you would discover that Malaysians of every ethnicity in the fields of science and research are part of an international community looking forward instead of reimagining the past.

You have to ask yourself why these academics are desperate to demonstrate that the community was greater than the sum of its parts. These types of claims comfort those who believe that Malay history and culture are divorced from everything else in this country.

It enables certain people to take comfort in a fictional history of a land that never was, but which is claimed to be the sole province of the Malays.

Malays are constantly told that they owe everything to the non-Malays, but what narratives like these hope to achieve is a foundation of independence beyond the messy communal relationships, both economic and cultural, that the “pendatang” (migrants) bring to the table.

What “ketuananism” (supremacy) has done, especially when it comes to the arts and history, is to destroy anything that references a diverse Malay culture from the political landscape and replace art and history with mythological narratives of a people who never were.

A Perikatan Nasional politician said that some Malaysians have an inferiority complex and referenced Sungai Batu, which is making a false equivalency between the historical site and the fantastical meanderings of Solehah.

Rejected history

Furthermore, if this PN operative was really interested in “our” history, there would be more discussion, especially in our history textbooks, about the role of Hindu and Buddhist civilisations in early Malay culture.

Ranjit makes this point here - “Another major shortcoming of our history textbooks is the grossly inadequate coverage of the impact of the Hindu-Buddhist civilisation on the early Malay kingdoms and society.

“They fail to elaborate on how Hindu-Buddhist civilisation impacted Malay culture, language, literature and the form of government. It should be noted that the early Malay kings were considered as the incarnation of Hindu gods (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) based upon the concept of devaraja (god-king).”

But this is the kind of history which is rejected by official state narratives, politicians and race hustlers who make up mainstream politics in this country.

There is this almost obsessive desire by some academics and political operatives to rewrite history because of nationalistic and religious agendas.

Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid has the right of it when she said that history should be evidence-based.

“(When) history is used as a propaganda tool, it not only contributes to the dumbing down of society but also disunites it,” she added.

Lopsided and self-serving

The kind of history advocated by these academics and their political enablers never teaches anyone to question the feudalistic nature of politics, which continues unabated to this day.

Hence, people taught this type of history never understand the history of Islam and how other religions predate the arrival of Islam in this country, which is why there are frantic attempts to expel all forms of pendatang influences from the Malay cultural landscape, which often takes the form of demolishing a century-old temple and building a mosque on the ruins.

So what we are left with are charlatans and scoundrels cooking up historical narratives to compensate for incompetent leadership and decades-long political malfeasances, which Malaysians tolerated for their own selfish reasons.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history,” George Orwell wrote, but he did not mean this as a political blueprint, which is what Malaysia is doing.

What really frightens the political elites is that there is no Malay history. There is no Indian history, no Chinese history, no Orang Asli or Orang Asal history.

There is only Malaysian history.

What went wrong is now public knowledge. And to save itself, FAM has served you, your ministers, and the government as sacrificial lambs to the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).

On Oct 18, during a press conference on its appeal against Fifa’s disciplinary action, FAM’s Geneva-based legal counsel Serge Vittoz declared: “FAM was not a party.” If not FAM, then who? The National Registration Department (NRD)? The government?

There was a deafening silence from Vittoz and other FAM officials seated at the main table.

Where it all began

How did all this start?

Mr Prime Minister, you may recall congratulating the national team after its victory over Vietnam in the Asian Cup Group F qualifier on June 10. In a Facebook post the following day, you wrote: “Congratulations, Harimau Malaya. Let yesterday's victory be the start of a more glorious comeback.”

In response, FAM issued a statement crediting not just financial support from you and the government, but also its role in “facilitating documentation” for new heritage players.

“It is hoped that the full support from the country's top leadership and fans will continue to inspire Harimau Malaya's performance,” the statement read.

The perception created by that note of gratitude implied that you had helped with the citizenship papers for the seven players. FAM insinuated that the government created the false documents.

It can be said that FAM now bit the hand that fed it, but put in a corner, it shifted the blame to protect itself and the officials behind this shameful affair.

It fell on Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution to explain, but he stumbled when asked how seven players were granted “instant citizenship.” His defence: they were naturalised under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, with residency requirements waived under Article 20(1)(e).

He added that since 2018, 23 foreign footballers had received citizenship through naturalisation, and that he exercised discretion under the law.

But legal experts, including Eric Paulsen of Lawyers for Liberty, swiftly dismantled that defence. The discretionary clause applies only to individuals who have already lived in Malaysia - not to those who have never set foot here.

Lack of faith in local talent

This scandal has turned Malaysian identity into a transactional commodity - made-up for short-term sporting glory. It is a betrayal of every citizen who holds his or her MyKad with pride, and a cruel dismissal of every local athlete who has earned the right to wear the national jersey and the many who represented “The king and country.”

What message does this send? That our system does not believe in homegrown talent. To our youth, the message is clear: “Hang up your boots. Focus on your books.”

A government that resorts to shortcuts and deception, importing mercenaries through fraudulent documents, has already decided its true sons are not good enough.

The wins may glitter, but the truth has tarnished them beyond repair. What was once celebrated as a national triumph now stands exposed as a fraud.

We are not champions - we are cheats. The fleeting euphoria of victory has collapsed into the permanent stain of global disgrace.

Ordinarily, NRD director Badrul Hisham Alias would not issue birth certificates on his own volition. Nor would he have bothered to gather “secondary evidence” - whatever that means - without direction. Unseen hands orchestrated this scam.

Please come clean

Therefore, Mr Prime Minister, for the sake of clarity, accountability, and transparency, you must come clean. You must tell us, Malaysians, your role in this sordid exercise for which FAM thanked you profusely.

But since the Fifa Disciplinary Committee’s announcement on Sept 27, you have maintained stoic and indifferent silence, ignoring the loud noise from citizens.

This is a defining moment for your leadership. You cannot dismiss it as a “sports issue” or “don’t involve me.”

But there could have been a request from FAM, which you could have passed to your aides - with a “sila uruskan” (please handle) minute - who took it upon themselves to undertake the “manufacture” of the documents.

I repeat: No public servant would dare to break the law intentionally unless he can rely on the “saya yang menurut perintah” (I who follows orders) – an ethos of the Malaysian civil service.

Enough lies have been concocted to cover up the false narrative. Innocent parties have been drawn into this quagmire of deceit. Several hundred man-hours in terms of productivity have been lost. Large sums of public money have been expanded to cover these lies.

Enough is enough, Mr Prime Minister, you must act. Please clear your name and the country’s - cleanse this rot. Hold those officials sitting on a pedestal to account. Restore the meaning of our anthem, our flag, and the honour of representing Malaysia.

You owe Malaysians the truth. The world is watching - again. Let them see a leader and a nation that holds itself accountable.

And let us be very clear. There will be a large section of the polity who will believe that whatever happened to Koh and Amri was well within the political and moral authority of the state. This, of course, is the unpleasant reality about these cases.

This judgment and its fast-track appeal by the Madani government are a shocking legal and public indictment of the police, the various incarnations of the Home Ministry, but also a reminder of the unchecked, unsanctioned, and unacknowledged existence of the deep Islamic state.

Bureaucracy, propaganda, education

Now, some folks scoff when I use the term deep Islamic state. This is understandable.

After all, political operatives like to blame their political failings and failed campaign promises on some sort of cabal whose sole existence is to maintain the status quo, even though various iterations of political coalitions have never strayed from the social contract politics which define mainstream politics of this country.

In 2019, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang attempted to blame the slow-to-non-existent reforms on the deep state. He wrote - “The deep state is, in fact, an important reason why institutional and political reforms for a ‘New Malaysia’ are not as rapid as they should be.”

All of this is complete bunkum, of course. Reforms are slow or non-existent because there is no political will.

There is no political will because everyone wants to maintain the status quo, but wants their respective bases to believe that they are offering something new.

But there is a “deep Islamic state”. It is a result of the vast religious bureaucracy, the doctrinal teachings of propaganda endeavours like the Biro Tata Negara (BTN or National Civics Bureau), the religious education system, and foreign influence, either through education or experience in foreign theatres of war.

What we are talking about here are “fellow travellers” who enjoy the support, either knowingly or unknowingly, of the Malay/Muslim political apparatus in this country, who believe they are setting the religious agenda, but in reality, are being manipulated by fascist elements with agendas of their own.

These travellers aim to subvert the constitutional bedrock of this country and turn this country into an “Islamic” state, even if it’s not the agenda of the Malay bureaucracy, royalty, plutocrat class or political brokers, whose definition of an “Islamic state” is relatively benign, if compared to the forces who are using it.

Abductions recorded

But forget all of this for a moment. There is allegedly a video recording of Koh’s kidnapping.

As stated in Suhakam’s report - “(The investigating officer) said it happened (during) broad daylight, it was very quick... He said the fact that someone was taking a video, (would) fit the police operation method.”

Keep in mind that Koh had been harassed by the state before, and in 2011, championed by then Selangor state exco member Hasan Ali, there was a raid on Pastor Koh’s charitable centre.

Here is a description of the “raid” that Hasan claimed was not a raid, according to witness Pastor Daniel Ho - “Around 30 Islamic religious and police officials entered the church compound in Selangor without a warrant and began taking videos and photographs.”

Therefore, that imagery of the state recording the event crops up again. The fact of the matter is that whoever kidnapped Koh, and no doubt Amri Che Mat too, had recorded these operations for unknown purposes.

Longtime rights activist Kua Kia Soong was right, as he usually is when it comes to most things in this country, when he said that the appeal is “... an act that can only be seen as protecting institutional impunity.”

This is the point. These state actors understand that Madani and any government after will protect them.

The case of the seven footballers is no different. False particulars were submitted, so why are they being treated as heroes instead of zeroes?

Why are we mollycoddling these players as if they were innocent bystanders with no role in falsely claiming their grandparents were born in Malaysia?

Ancestry information can only come from the players themselves - not football officials, and certainly not the NRD. If the NRD issued documents based on false data, shouldn’t revocation be the order of the day?

It may be absurd to expect the NRD to prosecute itself. But what of the seven players who knowingly signed off on falsehoods? Are we to believe they are blameless?

The NRD now stands accused on the global stage of falsely declaring that the grandparents of these players were born in Malaysia, despite knowing the truth.

The players weren’t intoxicated, coerced, or confused. They submitted the false information and signed those forms willingly - chasing that ever-elusive pot of gold and a shot at the Fifa World Cup.

Legally naturalised

This brings us to Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s claim that the seven were naturalised legally, in full compliance with Malaysian law.

But naturalisation requires three conditions: the applicant must have resided in Malaysia for 10 years with the intent to stay permanently, be of good character, and possess adequate knowledge of the Malay language.

Saifuddin said he invoked discretionary powers under the Federal Constitution. Yet human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen challenged this, stating that no such powers exist in the statute books.

As Paulsen rightly pointed out, the residence requirement is clear and unambiguous, with no room for improvisation or exemption.

In a response, I wrote: “This use of discretionary power is not a mere technicality - it effectively abolishes the minimum residency period, creating a pathway for ‘instant citizenship’ that bypasses an essential requirement for every other applicant.

“If this interpretation stands, what prevents it from becoming a precedent for any foreign national who seeks citizenship?

“This alarming legal flexibility is compounded by an insightful lack of transparency, raising the danger of selective privilege. The minister has provided no timeline or clear rationale for these expedited approvals.”

What about players’ version of events?

Fifa’s concern is not with how the players obtained citizenship. It is with the false particulars submitted when registering them as national players.

Why haven’t the players themselves come forward with their version of events? Why and who directed them to declare that their grandparents were born locally?

Why rely on third parties, many unconnected to their employer - the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) - to speak on their behalf?

Are they afraid their bluff will be called because of their inability to speak the Malay language? Or being kept under wraps lest the truth emerges?

This entire affair reeks. And while football may be the subject, the country finds itself entangled in yet another scandal involving falsified documents - for the second time.

Recall the 2008 sovereignty dispute over Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh), Middle Rocks, and South Ledge. Singapore’s attorney-general accused Malaysia of “photographic tactics,” presenting a doctored image to make the Johor coast appear closer to Pedra Branca than it actually was.

Yet even then, no credible reports emerged of Malaysia using false or fraudulent documents.

This time, the evidence is far more damning - and the silence, far more deafening.

Here was the top cop saying that he was trying to convince Riduan “that everything must be done in accordance with the court ruling, and he must not be selfish for the sake of the child’s future.”

Think about this. The IGP knew where Riduan was. Riduan’s identity was not even flagged by the state.

The federal government, after years of not doing anything about this case, could not even be bothered to do the bare minimum when it comes to the case of a Hindu child being unilaterally converted and then kidnapped.

This is a state security apparatus which jumps into action every time police reports are lodged against non-Muslims/Malays who, by words or actions, supposedly hurt the feelings of the majority.

This is from a state security apparatus that routinely keeps tabs on various individuals who are deemed problematic to the state.

And here is Riduan, having kidnapped a child and getting aid from the government using his identity card, with nary a raised eyebrow from the federal government.

‘Never will be solved’

The Indira quote that opens this piece is a non-Malay speaking the quiet part out loud.

A couple of months ago, professor Tajuddin Rasdi said another quiet part aloud when he wrote that the government, for all intents and purposes, was skewed towards one narrative and that non-Malays should abandon cases which were of great importance to them.

“Forget about finding out the truth about Teoh Beng Hock’s death, and the disappearances of Amri Che Mat and pastor Raymond Koh.

“None of these cases will ever be solved because perhaps there was no will to begin with. That is the reality. Also, good luck finding Indira’s child; there is no will for that, too.”

What are we really talking about here? What the state wants, and no doubt the religious bureaucracy is hoping, is for Indira’s daughter, Prasana Diksa, to turn 18, where she will come forward and thank her kidnapper for keeping her safe.

I am under no illusions that Prasana, after years of being held hostage, has been brainwashed by various operatives and will not repudiate the acts of her father/kidnapper.

It pains me to say this, but Indira’s daughter has probably been indoctrinated to believe the narrative of her captor instead of her mother.

This is what former foreign law enforcement types and cult deprogrammers tell me when I discuss this case with them.

“The longer the child is with her kidnapper, the child’s situation becomes normalised, and with that, the actions of the child’s kidnapper,” one deprogrammer said.

State aided, abetted

At every step of the way, Indira has met nothing but resistance from the state and a political apparatus, which has used her when convenient and discarded her cause when in power.

This is not even a case of “invisible hands”. We know that a former top cop knew where this fugitive was. We know that senior politicians knew where this fugitive was.

What the football scandal demonstrates is that the state and operatives at its highest echelons have no use for the law.

It is the same with the people within the state and its various bureaucracies who are aiding and abetting this kidnapper, secure that the state will never sanction them.

You do not have to look much further than the state’s inaction against Firdaus Wong to understand what is at stake here. Here is a Muslim preacher who was telling children to lie to their parents and convert.

The way the state deals with religious kidnapping or unilateral conversion demonstrates that when it comes to the religion of the state, successive governments have given a free hand to religious provocateurs who view the non-Muslim polity as helpless against their attacks and provocations.

Say what you like about former minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, but at least he had the cajones to admit that, as a Muslim, he was not proud of unilateral conversions and these kidnappings.

“As a Muslim, I am not proud of these things. Where is the fairness in this?” he said in the Dewan Rakyat back in 2022.

Successive governments, aided and abetted by willing non-Malay political operatives, must be proud of what they are doing to Indira, because they have never demonstrated any public remorse.

One last point on the religious dynamic of this kidnapping and the actions of the state. If you believe in a just almighty, God is watching.

Every time PAS plays this card, the Malays in DAP have to step up and remind the DAP base that these are provocative things to say, and PN will reject such statements.

First of all, why would PN reject such statements? PN has positioned itself as the primary means for Malays to control the government without DAP involvement.

Secondly, PAS and the Malay establishment in one way or another have portrayed the community under siege for decades.

‘Malays fear DAP’

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad may claim that Anwar is a pathological liar, but he has admitted that the Malays fear the DAP because of the strategies he carried out.

“So the Malays fear DAP. I myself had to some extent contributed to the poor reputation of DAP. I portrayed it as an evil party that wanted to control Malaysia and one that did not care about the fate of the Malays.”

We have mainstream political dogma that claims that the Malay community will become slaves in their lands. We have the political establishment that warns that the Malays are divided and susceptible to manipulation by non-Malay political factions, which are detrimental to the well-being of the Malay community. We are warned not to spook the Malays.

Any rational person would consider PAS' speech “incitement”. Any rational person would be offended by such speech since it is ahistorical and grounded in fabrications that are unfortunately part of the mainstream racial narratives of this country.

But not Deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker Ramli Nor, who, as reported in the press, dismissed Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee’s motion that Marzuk’s Facebook post about the non-Muslims dominating the economic sector was akin to Zionism, “… saying he had yet to find words intended to mislead the house.”

Think about it. These statements are apparently not misleading to the house, which basically means the house confirms or endorses such views. Nothing to see here, folks.

When govt stays silent

Every time any of these Malay uber types uses the Palestinian issue in a way that denigrates the non-Muslims in this country, the ruling establishment says nothing.

However, any time a non-Muslim says something politically incorrect but factual about the Palestinian issue, the outrage is palpable, and the state security apparatus comes down hard on the transgressors.

The government makes a big deal about the hurt feelings laws. We are told it is needed to keep agitators in line. We have been told it has not been abused. But here’s the thing, where are the hurt feelings laws when it comes to PAS?

Rational people have to ask themselves if the state finds no evidence that what these cretins say hurts the feelings of non-Muslims, what does it say about Madani’s views on what these cretins say?

Furthermore, what does this say about the plight of the Palestinians? What does it say about the state which allows its suffering and misery to be used as a political weapon against citizens of this country? What this kind of speech does is radicalise people.

No action against PAS

However, the fact that it is mainstream and goes unpunished by the state, which at the drop of a hat would investigate the non-Muslims for far less, is what PAS relies on to get away with these kinds of incitements.

PAS understands that the prime minister and Madani would never do anything against the party because to do so would put the religious and racial bona fides of Madani in question.

So PAS continues its blood libel against the non-Muslims in this country, making a mockery of the Palestinian issue, enabled by Madani against tax-paying citizens of this country.

The prime minister wonders why there is a backlash against his efforts on behalf of Gazans - “And when we brought those injured here (for medical treatment), some people started to criticise, saying I shouldn’t be the prime minister of Malaysia, telling me to go be the prime minister of Palestine if I really wanted to help.”

Indeed.

Alumni fundraising dinners are essential lifelines, and any former student or parent of a current pupil will tell you that. Fundraising keeps buildings from crumbling, sustains programmes, and maintains a century-long educational legacy.

Disappointingly, PAS’ desire to score political brownie points now means these gatherings are scrutinised as if the survival of society hangs on each toast.

Even more absurd is the selective outrage. In one year, a former inspector-general of police was sitting a few tables away from mine. He and other senior civil servants had attended reunions with no fuss.

The former IGP told reporters that he was there as an “old boy”. No fuss, no frills, no protocol, no controversy, nor scandal.

Today, it is shocking that a sitting politician is able to transform a modest, joyous dinner into a moral emergency.

How dare he call the fundraising dinner a “pesta arak” with free-flowing alcohol and gambling?

Conservative politicians are probably envious that we seem happy, lively, boisterous, and having a good time. More absurd is when fundraising, in the form of a raffle, was classified as gambling.

Moral panic, while real crime goes on

The situation could almost be a satirical skit, except the authorities are treating it as serious governance. Adults quietly sharing a drink are policed as if they threaten the nation, while real crises, like stabbings, violence, bullying and gang rapes are largely unresolved.

This moral panic is being stirred not by educators, parents, or child-protection agencies. It’s engineered by politicians eager to extend their version of Islamic morality into private events, attended mostly by non-Muslims.

This is part of a broader trend with PAS’ fixation on conservative dress codes on nurses, on Malaysian Airlines stewardesses and alcohol mid-flight. The wine glasses at SMI are less of a problem than the political pot-stirring.

Priorities require recalibration. If a government is concerned about morality on campus, it should first tackle violence and bullying in schools, sexual abuse in religious/tahfiz institutions, stabbings in toilets, and mental health issues leading to a loss of hope/life.

None of these is alcohol-induced, yet they endanger children daily. The alumni dinner, by contrast, posed zero threat.

Consistency is also elusive. During school hours, children have been subjected to mock military exercises, brandishing toy guns, supposedly to teach solidarity with foreign conflicts.

Incredibly, that show of violence was acceptable.

Now, a private dinner among consenting adults is a moral calamity.

Misplaced priorities

This episode exposes a structural injustice: mission schools like SMI function despite chronic underfunding, minimal government allocations, dilapidated buildings, and shrinking programmes.

Alumni donations are critical to maintain basic standards, but when alumni attempt to support their alma mater, they are publicly chastised. Private initiative is suspect, adult responsibility is subversive, and morality must be theatrically enforced.

Meanwhile, politicians, ministers, and even the prime minister seemingly waste incredible amounts of energy policing beer glasses while society faces serious crises.

Malaysia grapples with economic stagnation, environmental degradation, societal polarisation, religious extremism, and rising living costs. And yet, a modest alumni dinner became a policy priority.

With elections looming in Sabah, minority rights, especially of non-Malays and non-Muslims, are increasingly vulnerable.

Beware, today, it is a private alumni dinner; tomorrow, school inclusivity, and civil society could be quietly eroded.

Consider, too, the ritual Hari Raya Haji korban in schools. Children witness acts that border on psychological trauma. Nobody rushes to the police about that, yet a glass of wine in the evening triggers a moral investigation.

If morality were truly the guide, priorities would look very different.

This is not leadership

The lesson is stark: when governance confuses moral panic with moral leadership, society suffers. Adults are policed unnecessarily, the real harm that students face is left unaddressed, and institutions trying to survive are publicly rebuked.

Mission schools must tread a narrow path: fundraise quietly, maintain excellence, and avoid moral scrutiny, lest they become pawns in political theatre.

Malaysia must learn to distinguish between actual threats to children and harmless adult celebrations. Focus must shift to violence in schools, systemic neglect, and the protection of minority rights.

Until that day, absurdity masquerades as governance, common sense exits the building, and moralism reigns over adults responsibly enjoying an evening.

Do raise a glass for SMI, to acknowledge its courage, reason, and priorities that actually protect the next generation.

I do believe, though, that children respond when they feel that teachers sincerely care for their welfare. And the system has always marginalised such teachers - that is the problem.

School, ministry’s reaction

It should be shocking, but it isn’t that those teenagers who gang raped a schoolgirl posted a video of the rape online and distributed it.

According to reports from the press, a teacher informed the mother that a video was circulating of the rape, and the mother made a police report. Think about that for a moment.

Here we have a school teacher who has evidence of a rape, and the teacher or the school does not make a police report, but just informs the parent? So, if the mother does not make a report, the school does nothing?

Education Ministry director-general Azam Ahmad said many sexual harassment and bullying cases were swept under the rug. These are adults who are supposed to keep children safe.

So, either these adults were not beaten enough when they were young, or they did receive the required beatings but still engaged in behaviour which was detrimental to society and which was enabled by the state.

The education minister’s feeble attempt to clarify what the DG meant made the situation worse. What it did was make the ministry incompetent or worse, negligent.

Federal agencies sweeping things under the rug is not new. Since we are talking about children here, in 2016, Reuters did a story on how child sexual abuse went unpunished in Malaysia.

A couple of interesting points were made in the article that demonstrate how insidious the problem is.

Defending the rather dubious practice of not publishing child sexual abuse data because it is protected under the Official Secrets Act, then head of the police Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division, Ong Chin Lan said, “We don't want people to misinterpret it.”

Addressing the same point, DAP’s Kashturi Patto wrote, “While I know her (Ong’s) heart is in the right place, by not revealing data on this type of crime, the issue remains largely unaddressed and will inadvertently contribute to the increase in the number of potential paedophiles and abusers.

“By also concealing information like this, it makes victims and victims' families hesitate to make reports, thinking that the matter is taboo.”

Exposure, understanding of sex

Let us talk about sexual activity. On the one hand, we have all these religious and moral values that demonise sex. These same religious values also sexualise children to the point that justifications are made for child marriages and how they should dress.

Add to this a social media which reinforces certain forms of misogyny and gender behaviour, and we get children exposed to and replicating the sexual behaviour of adults. This, of course, cuts across race and religion.

So all these religious groups asking for the state to crack down on porn and online violent content are not only missing the point but also willfully gaslighting people into not looking at religious institutions and discovering that prosperity and repression have supplanted any kind of ethical education these institutions inculcate in the flock.

The social and political environment normalises bullying, and in the Malaysian context, it means it is acceptable to bully people in the defence of race and religion.

Children will replicate this behaviour in the school yard, and I don’t mean this in a simplistic “monkey see, monkey do” way, but rather that certain norms are established which make it difficult to argue that bullying is an anti-social behaviour.

Online bullying and harassment can lead to suicide, which again points to a deeper systemic dysfunction rather than that there is something wrong with children.

Is the answer banning youth of a certain age from participating in social media? This is the terrifying aspect of technology. You cannot put the genie back in the bottle.

Banning certain age groups from social media is a band-aid solution. They will eventually get on in.

The question really is how social media is being used by people and the agendas of tech companies in ensuring a toxic environment. It is extremely difficult to legislate that without sacrificing foundational democratic ideas.

Children wired differently

Children can suffer mental health issues like adults do, which is why schools must be equipped to deal with these kinds of situations. But here is the thing: we only think of this when a child is stabbed 200 times by an obviously mentally ill student.

The state and public rarely pay attention to schools until something bad happens, and then people are outraged.

Instead, Madani, in this instance, sees no issue with spending RM600 million on restoring heritage buildings but contemplates all sorts of dubious measures for children instead of equipping schools with the necessary expertise needed for addressing the mental health issue of school-going children.

Children's brains are wired differently. They engage in risky behaviour and disregard normative values until they get older.

Couple this with social media, hypocritical adult behaviour and failing educational policies - you have a Molotov cocktail of anti-social behaviour in some students.

What we are dealing with is not some sort of epidemic of school anti-social and criminal behaviour, but rather the logical conclusion of the social and political policies that define an ethnocratic kakistocracy.

Apparently, it was so disrespectful to Muslim guests that Terengganu state executive councillor for tourism, culture, environment, and climate change, Razali Idris, left early because:

“There was no sense of decorum or morality. It did not reflect the aspirations of the Rukun Negara. The act of serving alcohol showed great disrespect towards Muslim guests.

“The hotel staff were freely serving alcoholic beverages at the request of attending guests.”

Does not reflect the aspirations of the Rukun Negara. Really? Why do most people forget the preamble to the principles: “Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards our traditional heritage that is rich and diverse”? Some folks always forget this part.

I rarely agree with DAP’s Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee, but everything he wrote in defence of Tiong is spot on. But here is the important part, even more so than the money the event generated:

“While Muslim officers have every right to maintain their religious principles, no one, including the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs), has the authority to impose restrictions upon non-Muslim civil servants in their private or social conduct.

“Our civil service must be guided by professionalism, not prejudice; by mutual respect, not moral policing.”

When faith becomes political weaponry

This is the endgame of the deep religious state. To impose restrictions on the rights non-Muslims enjoy. This has always been the game plan, and ironically, under Madani, they are gaining more ground than they ever did under previous administrations.

The attacks against Tiong are motivated by the fact that this particular minister is unafraid of his non-Muslim status, as he demonstrated when he said in Parliament, calling out Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah):

“For example, Masjid Tanah raised an issue about me getting drunk, that I drank alcohol. I am not Muslim, what is wrong with me drinking?”

Whether you agree or disagree with the way Tiong is doing his job, his agenda, and he has made this very clear, is to bring in foreign money through tourism to this country. And if this means apologising and clarifying public statements from his ministry, so be it.

Remember when Tiong had to clarify when his deputy publicly spoke about creating Muslim-friendly niche tourist spots: “I was abroad on duty a few days ago, and the deputy minister might not have explained it clearly, which led to public backlash. I have already spoken to him about this.”

As reported in the press, Tiong said Malaysia is a multiracial country and no tourism site should cater exclusively to the needs of a single religion.

The problem with this country is that everything is associated with religion. And if everything is associated with religion, someone who does not kowtow to this groupthink becomes a source of agitation for people who think non-Muslims should be pak turuts (yes men).

In the era of Madani, where the forces of extremism are smug in their belief that non-Muslim political operatives will scamper away because they are afraid of spooking the Malays, this Sarawakian political operative is flying the non-Malay/Muslim flag high and proud.

To be clear, Tiong is not making his race or religion an issue. It is the forces of extremism in this country that are making his race and religion an issue. Or, rather, they are making their race and religion an issue in the sense that their sensitivities trump everything else in this country.

Politics over performance

This is a minister who was accused of eating pork in his office. The allegation that Tiong, as a non-Muslim, makes Muslim cleaners clean up after “haram” items points to the narratives that the Malays will become servants in their homeland. That they will be forced to clean up the messes of non-Muslims.

Tiong is doing his job, reminding people what a great destination Malaysia is because of its diversity, while the forces against him believe it should only be a destination for a certain kind of tourist.

The forces against Tiong have demonstrated that they do not care how much the minister has done and is doing for this country, but all they want to do is make him kowtow to their sensitivities.

They are willing to ignore the economic benefits this minister brings for the rakyat, using the primacy of religion to demonstrate that they place dogma over the utilitarian economic value.

This is why Madani admonishing Tiong is such a win for them. It tells them that with all the scandals, corruption cases, and political malfeasances swirling around Madani, they can always rely on the fact that a non-Malay/Muslim minister will be a convenient whipping boy.

Tiong, for his part, has not apologised but acknowledged the confusion that he didn’t specify the event was handled by the private sector and that the logo of the Tourism Ministry was used, thus creating doubt. Good for him. An apology is not warranted in the face of this extremist behaviour.

The tragedy here is that by admonishing Tiong, what the prime minister has done is give legitimacy that the country is exclusive to a certain segment of society.

What Tiong does every day as a minister is attempt to debunk this by making our inclusivity a selling point for this country, which he seems to be successfully doing.

I really admire David Dass’ earnestness in all his pieces, but sadly, the only question is, can Malaysia survive its diversity?