48 Words That Shamed Malaysian Football

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“Using fraudulent documentation to allow a player to compete constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating, which cannot in any way be condoned. Such conduct erodes trust in the fairness of competitions and jeopardises the very essence of football as an activity founded on honesty and transparency.”
- Fifa Disciplinary Committee, Oct 6
These 48 words were sufficient to describe the state of Malaysian football and make it to BBC, Al-Jazeera, ESPN, Deutsche Welle (DW), and scores of other international publications and news portals around the world.
Taking to the adage that attack is the best form of defence, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has adopted a three-pronged attack on the findings by the Disciplinary Committee of Fifa, the world’s governing body for football:
• Local laws bar the FAM from disclosing details about the citizenship process;
• Fifa offered no evidence to support the allegations of forgery and false documentation; and
• A “technical error” was made in the submission of documents by its administrative staff to Fifa.
Yet, FAM continues to take the stance that it did not wrong, but on Tuesday, it added yet another reason - it is legally barred from disclosing details about the seven foreign players at the centre of a Fifa disciplinary ruling, citing Malaysian laws governing official secrets and passport procedures.
The FAM stressed that Fifa’s claim that the players “obtained or were aware of forged documents” was unfounded, as no solid evidence had been presented to support the allegation.
These “no surrender” and “fight till the last man” stances are commendable, but in this, only the truth can save the situation – not legalese, not jargon, not local laws.
Maintaining confidentiality
The FAM argues that the Malaysian citizenship process involves official government procedures, which are protected under the Official Secrets Act 1972 and the Passport Act 1966.
As a result, the association is required to maintain confidentiality and will only share relevant information with Fifa as part of its formal appeal.
What processes, one may ask? The entire process of obtaining citizenship is in the Federal Constitution, especially Article 19, which is accessible to everyone and has been widely quoted.
Additionally, the National Registration Department has already made public the process through which the seven players were granted citizenship. (These details were contained in a note in the form of a witness statement by its director, Badrul Hisham Aliam, on Sept 19.)
Besides, the law does not exempt applicants from the rigid requirements, including residency for a minimum period of at least 10 years and the ability to speak the Malay language.
It also said: “FAM views seriously several conclusions, particularly the allegations that the players obtained forged documents or deliberately attempted to evade eligibility rules. FAM emphasises that there is no evidence to support these allegations presented by Fifa.”
The documents issued by the relevant authorities in Malaysia may be authentic, but since there are no handwritten records of the grandparents’ birth certificates, the “new” ones generated instantly by the NRD are doubtful indeed.
Fifa has since traced and found the original birth certificates issued in Spain, Argentina, and Brazil, debunking the documents submitted and concluding that the papers submitted through FAM are fraudulent.
Thus, Fifa came to the conclusion that the FAM submitted documents that contained false information.
What’s the difference
FAM clarified that the issue arose from a wrong submission, describing it as an administrative error in which a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents obtained from an agent instead of the official records issued by the National Registration Department (NRD).
However, what are the “correct” documents? How do they differ from the ones submitted? FAM is tight-lipped, citing non-existent secrecy laws.
By insisting that its documentation is authentic, is the FAM implying that the evidence gathered by Fifa is wrong?
Fifa said it has gathered original birth certificates that differ from the ones submitted by the FAM.
Fifa noted: “The NRD confirmed that the Malaysian authorities never received the original birth certificates. Instead, the NRD issued its own copies based on secondary information and foreign documents from Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
“The NRD further admitted that it could not retrieve the original handwritten records and therefore issued official copies based on evidence that a birth had occurred.
“This admission, so finds the committee, indicates that the Malaysian government’s validation process may not have been based on original documents, which calls into question the thoroughness of FAM’s verification process.”
Anything else to be said? If it’s tennis, it is game, set, and match to Fifa. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN started his journalistic career as a sports reporter and has been a close observer of sports and its administrators. Comments: [email protected].
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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