KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysia minister has defended the government’s move in granting citizenship to seven foreign-born footballers, saying the matter is to be settled between the country’s football federation and world body FIFA, even as public sentiments remain negative over the brewing scandal.
FIFA said this week that it had found evidence indicating that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) used forged or falsified birth certificates of the seven players’ grandparents to secure their eligibility to play for the national team.
On Thursday (Oct 9), Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told parliament that the government had followed the law and naturalised the seven players based on a provision in Malaysia’s constitution.
He said that the birth certificates of the players’ grandparents were not needed for the naturalisation.
The players had met the relevant conditions to get citizenship, including having proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia based on a basic test by the National Registration Department (NRD).
He acknowledged he had used his ministerial discretion to relax some conditions – in particular a requirement for an applicant to have resided in Malaysia for a set period of time – adding that he has such powers under the constitution.
Saifuddin did not address allegations that officials had failed to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted.
“The issue of player eligibility is a matter between FAM and FIFA, which is currently being managed at the appeal stage,” he said.
He added that a total of 23 football players – including the seven – had been naturalised since 2018 and that athletes from other sports and professionals in the fields of science and technology had also similarly obtained citizenship.
This is the second time Saifuddin has spoken out on the scandal involving the seven players born in Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain and Argentina.
Following FIFA’s initial announcement on Sept 26 on its decision to file FAM 350,000 Swiss franc (US$437,000) and ban the seven players for a year, Saifuddin had said the next day that the process of granting citizenship to these players had complied with the Federal Constitution.
Describing it as a “very thorough” process, he said his ministry examines all documents submitted to ensure they meet every requirement under the law.
He had also said then that the matter was under the purview of FIFA and FAM, and that the Home Ministry’s focus was “strictly on citizenship matters”.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, meanwhile, had said on Sep 27 that she was “saddened and angry” reading about FIFA’s decision.
After its disciplinary committee published its grounds of decision on Oct 6 and revealed the birth certificate forgery, she said that FAM must respond clearly to all the revelations made by FIFA, adding Malaysian football fans are “hurt, angry and disappointed”.
Indeed, the scandal has made waves in the football-mad country, with fans and critics who spoke to CNA calling for thorough investigations into how the players were granted citizenship.
They have also raised questions about how it has been handled and Malaysia’s policy to rely on foreign-born players.
Sports critic Pekan Ramli told CNA that Saifuddin’s explanation in parliament on Thursday lacked conviction, and he was unsure if football fans could accept it.
“There are still many unanswered questions about the whole issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, social media posts by FAM have been met with a wave of negative comments, while memes have proliferated, making fun of the situation.
One viral meme shows a map of Malaysia with its states humorously replaced by the European and South American countries, while another displays a map of South America, with the countries relabeled with the names of Malaysian states.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/fifa-malaysia-football-scandal-minister-fans-critics-answers-5391751
