R Nadeswaran
Published: Oct 7, 2025 10:20 AM
Updated: 1:20 PM
COMMENT | By any measure, the scandal surrounding the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and its naturalised players is a national embarrassment.
What began as a quiet attempt to bolster Malaysia’s football squad has unravelled into a tale of falsified facts, doctored documents, and institutional complicity culminating in a damning investigative note from the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), the world’s governing body for football.
Let’s be clear: this was not a clerical error or a misunderstanding as claimed - documents were forged. Facts were manipulated. And for a good part of it, the government played facilitator.
When the scheme was exposed, those involved scrambled to deflect blame - offering one lie after another. From royalty to politicians, many rushed to defend the process, asking why the fuss now when “everything was fine” before. Eventually, a junior executive was scapegoated for a so-called “technical mistake”.
But Fifa’s findings speak volumes. The global football body confirmed that seven foreign players were registered using forged documents.
Published: Oct 7, 2025 10:20 AM
Updated: 1:20 PM
COMMENT | By any measure, the scandal surrounding the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and its naturalised players is a national embarrassment.
What began as a quiet attempt to bolster Malaysia’s football squad has unravelled into a tale of falsified facts, doctored documents, and institutional complicity culminating in a damning investigative note from the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), the world’s governing body for football.
Let’s be clear: this was not a clerical error or a misunderstanding as claimed - documents were forged. Facts were manipulated. And for a good part of it, the government played facilitator.
When the scheme was exposed, those involved scrambled to deflect blame - offering one lie after another. From royalty to politicians, many rushed to defend the process, asking why the fuss now when “everything was fine” before. Eventually, a junior executive was scapegoated for a so-called “technical mistake”.
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?
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
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.
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.
R NADESWARAN does not expect anyone in FAM to take responsibility for this shameful episode, which has shamed the country, its leaders and its citizens. When will the big stick be yielded, or will they be treated as “protected species”?
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When we ask how could a national football organization DESCEND to such disgusting & abysmal level of deceit, we need to recall the rumours of national school exams having passing scores of 17% or thereabout.
