Yeoh Lauds Saifuddin After Must Stateless Kids Play Football Post Dug Up

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No other home minister has shown compassion and efficiency over the citizenship issue like Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
She said this after cybertroopers pulled out an old social media post made by Yeoh on Sept 1, 2022, questioning whether stateless kids need to become footballers before being given citizenship.
The old post reads: “Must we get all our stateless children to play football before the authorities pay heed to their plight? This is why I have earlier advocated for a ministry for children because we can afford billions for men’s interest but peanuts for protection of children.”
Heaping laurels on Saifuddin, Yeoh said the PKR leader has cleared 49,000 in backlog cases in relation to citizenship applications.
“During his time, our Federal Constitution has also been amended to enable Malaysian mothers to pass on citizenship to their children born overseas,” the Segambut MP said on Facebook today.
As for children’s rights, Yeoh said that the government has also established the Children’s Development Department in 2023, which comes under the purview of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
“So, distinguishing the facts is a very important exercise in the digital world today.
“Cybertroopers and some politicians love to cherry-pick random posts without applying the critical mind,” she added.
‘Heritage’ players fiasco
On Sept 26, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) imposed sanctions against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven “heritage” players for breaches of Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code on forgery and falsification.
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.
Fifa also determined that FAM must pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million), while each of the seven players was also slapped with a 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,500) fine.
Yesterday, Saifuddin told Dewan Rakyat that he had exercised his power granted under the Constitution to consider the seven “heritage” footballers as fit to be granted Malaysian citizenship.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution IsmailSaifuddin said Section 20(1)(e) provides discretionary power to the home minister when considering a citizenship application from a foreigner, particularly in the fulfilment of the minimum residency requirements.
“In the Constitution, there is a Section called 20(1)(e), where the minister can use his discretionary powers.
“The power under 20(1)(e) means that the definition of ‘residency’ in the Constitution allows for the applicant’s presence outside the country to still be considered as being within the country.
“That is the legal language used in this book, in this text. I applied Article 20(1)(e) to fulfil the residency requirement,” he said during Minister's Question Time, referring to the Federal Constitution.
Saifuddin also defended the National Registration Department’s decision to produce birth certificates for the grandparents of the seven “heritage” footballers.
He pointed out that under Section 10(a) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, the department’s director-general has the authority to register births if the officer is satisfied with the evidence produced.
- Mkini

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