Let S Hear Heritage 7 Speak Bm Pas Dares Saifuddin To Release Video

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PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has challenged Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to release a short video of interviews with the seven players in the national football team recently granted Malaysian citizenship to demonstrate their command of Bahasa Malaysia.
ADSHe said that if anyone wished to obtain Malaysian citizenship must have sufficient knowledge of the national language.
“So, does the minister dare to take up the challenge and show a brief interview in Malay with these seven players to prove that they can speak the language, even at a basic level?” he asked in a Facebook post.
Referring to Saifuddin’s remarks regarding the controversy surrounding the “heritage” players in Parliament earlier today, Fadhli said the explanations are “getting more and more tangled”.
“The real issue is that people are asking - is our citizenship institution still secure?” he added.
Saifuddin said that he exercised his power granted under the Federal Constitution to consider the seven "heritage" footballers as fit to be granted Malaysian citizenship, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Saifuddin said Article 20(1)(e) provides discretionary power to a home minister when considering a citizenship application from a foreigner, particularly in the fulfilment of the minimum residency requirements.
He stressed that all seven players had fulfilled the requirements under the law to be granted citizenship by naturalisation, including having proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution IsmailAt a press conference later, Saifuddin defended the National Registration Department’s decision to produce birth certificates for the grandparents of seven “heritage” footballers.
Pointing to Section 10(a) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, the home minister told a press conference that the legislation empowers the department’s director-general with the power to register births if the officer is satisfied with the evidence produced.
Sanctions
Last month, the International Federation of Association Football's (Fifa) disciplinary committee sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven “heritage” players after finding them guilty of breaching Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code concerning document forgery.
Fifa said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, enabling them to feature in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
ADSThe seven players penalised were Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.
FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8 million), while each player received a 2,000 Swiss francs fine and a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities, effective from the date the decision was announced.
Harimau MalayaFAM, which is appealing the matter, has blamed the issue on an “administrative mistake” and stated that Fifa’s decision presented an inaccurate account of the issue.
On Wednesday, FAM said the allegation that players had “obtained or been aware of falsified documents” was baseless, as no solid evidence had been presented so far, adding that all seven players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.
“As previously explained, the mistake occurred due to a wrong submission - an administrative error - when a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents from an agent instead of official documents issued by the NRD,” FAM said. - Mkini

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