On Christmas Eve, while many were already in a festive mood, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) lodged a police report alleging document forgery by seven mixed-heritage players. It claimed this move, following an independent committee’s recommendation, demonstrated its “commitment to integrity, transparency, and governance reforms.”
This is a diversion. The real scandal is not a criminal forgery, but a systemic falsification that FAM and government officials endorsed -- until FIFA intervened.
This follows FIFA’s penalties imposed on FAM and the players, who were also suspended from football for a year.
Such falsifications enabled the seven players to represent Malaysia under the “grandfather rule” rules of the International Association of Football Federation (FIFA).
Falsification, not forgery
The “grandfather rule” allows foreign-born football players to represent countries that their biological parents or grandparents were born in. This aims to prevent national football teams from simply importing foreign players to boost performance.
But what forgery is FAM talking about? There was none. It should have been a falsification of information provided to the National Registration Department, which, based on the information provided, processed, and issued birth certificates of the grandparent of each of the seven foreign players.
NRD director Badrul Hisham Alias, in a witness statement to FIFA, attested that the birth certificates of the grandparents of the seven players were issued after 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 could not be retrieved. Instead, official copies were issued based on secondary evidence.
But he could not say what secondary evidence was produced. Did they check the register of the schools they went to? Did they inspect locl church records to verify they were baptized? Did they visit the cemeteries? (Which I offered to do!)
What records did it get from Argentina, Brazil, and Spain when these countries submitted to FIFA, the genuine birth certificates they issued to the grandparents?
FIFA called FAM’s bluff
None, But FIFA produced the real thing: It obtained 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. (See chart below)
To put it bluntly, FIFA called the bluff, but FAM and other officials supporting such falsification insisted the players are legitimate citizens and eligible to play for Malaysia.
On Oct 10 last year, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the seven footballers had fulfilled all criteria under the Federal Constitution to become citizens.
Under Article 19, an applicant must have resided in the Federation for at least 10 out of the preceding 12 years, be of good character, and possess adequate knowledge of the Malay language.
(But later, the players told FIFA’s investigations committee that they did not speak the language!)
He said the application must also be processed under the Citizenship Rules 1994, which requires the applicant to fill up a form containing details such as their passport and other documents.
“These criteria are not only used for footballers but also national athletes and academics. Did they fulfil all the criteria? No.
None met the 10-year rule but Saifuddin said he used his powers to exempt them from the requisite period.
But Saifuddin claimed the law allows the minister to exempt applicants from the residency period requirement.
“Section 20(1)(e), Second Schedule, Part III of the Federal Constitution empowers the minister to exempt applicants from the residency period requirement,” Saifuddin said during the Minister's Question Time in Parliament.
But human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen disputed the minister had such powers.
He said that the legal provision referenced by Saifuddin relates to calculating the period of residence for persons who have already resided in the country for a certain number of years when applying for citizenship.
“The home minister is misleading Parliament by claiming that Section 20(1)(e) Part III, Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution allows him to exempt the seven foreign players from the period of residence requirement for naturalisation under Article 19 of the Constitution,” he said.
A moot point: Malaysia does not recognise dual citizenship. Have the seven players renounced their original nationality to become Malaysian citizens? Are they travelling on Malaysian passports, or on those issued by their countries of origin?
So, there was no forgery of documents submitted to FAM. There was, instead, a falsification of information given to the NRD, which then produced faulty official documents. FAM’s police report deflects from its own role in relying on -- and aggressively defending -- these dubious papers.
Thus, no forgery was committed by FAM. Instead, falsified information was fed into NRD, producing faulty documents. FAM’s police report deflects from its own complicity in defending these papers. And rightly, they have been punished by FIFA.
If the birth certificates were falsified, then the MyKads and citizenship derived from them are void. So, what exactly are the police investigating?
One has to grudgingly admit that FAM was not involved in the falsification, per se, but as I noted in an earlier article, someone high up must have given the order to “facilitate” such arrangements.
No public servant would dare to break the law intentionally unless he can rely on the “saya yang menurut perintah” (I who follows orders) – an ethos of the Malaysian civil service.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister on Nov 14, I noted: “Ordinarily, NRD director Badrul Hisham Alias would not issue birth certificates on his own volition. Nor would he have bothered to gather 'secondary evidence’ - whatever that means - without direction. Unseen hands orchestrated this scam.
“Therefore, Mr Prime Minister, for the sake of clarity, accountability, and transparency, you must come clean. You must tell us, Malaysians, your role in this sordid exercise for which FAM thanked you profusely.”
The appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)), the investigation by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) into government lapses, and now the police probe into “forgery” all miss the point.
Forgery does not exist here. What exists is falsification, complicity, and a cover-up, and it certainly involves several parties.
Is this an exercise in futility—or a deliberate smokescreen?
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