[1] “Presenting fraudulent documentation with the purpose of gaining eligibility to play for a national team constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating, which cannot in any way be condoned,” so said the FIFA statement. It’s a telling indictment; a new low for Malaysia. Few doubt that at least some level of official connivance was involved.
[2] And all for what? To win a few games and revel in undeserved glory? Is winning a trophy more important than honour, integrity and national pride? FAM and those involved can spin it anyway they want but there’s no denying the enormous damage they have done our reputation. They should all resign immediately. It will not remove the disgrace, but it might just send a small message that such is behaviour remains unacceptable even in a nation already beset with serious credibility issues.
[3] That we have lost our moral compass can be seen in the way the government and others involved have responded to this shameful episode. We were caught cheating and all they could do is offer feeble excuses, shrug, point fingers and hide behind banal statements. No senior government politician seemed sufficiently perturbed to demand meaningful action.
[4] Just listen to some of their responses to this unprecedented scandal. “All provisions in the Constitution were followed in the granting of citizenship to the seven foreign players… the process was rigorous….”[1] said the Home Minister. “What’s wrong in giving them citizenship in the interest of ‘national agenda’?”, asks UMNO Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi.[2] Youth and Sports minister Hannah Yeoh for her part chose to shift attention to the Home Minister ‘s work in granting citizenship to stateless children.[3]
[5] Does the national agenda include lying and cheating? Does giving citizenship to stateless children excuse deception and deceit? Does the constitution confer on the home minister discretionary powers to overlook the falsification of legal documents? Can they not see the singular moral issue that is at the core of the scandal? Can they not understand that cheating and falsification of documents is not just morally wrong but might well constitute a criminal offense as well?
[6] The prime minister’s silence on the issue thus far is also troubling. By implication, his government now stands accused of participating in a “sensationally damning”[4] scheme to defraud FIFA and he has nothing to say? He is quick to reprimand his ministers over petty issues but has nothing to say about something far more egregious ones. He is quick to order the police to investigation the display of Israeli flags but not something far more serious and embarrassing.
[7] Is this now the new normal in a nation where integrity in public office has long given way to political expediency and hypocrisy on a grand scale? Standards of good governance are now so low that all five of our living prime ministers, one deputy prime minister, two chief ministers and several other senior political figures have been charged and/or convicted or are currently under investigated for one crime or another.
[8] No wonder scandal no longer generates righteous indignation among the ruling classes. The people care but politicians couldn’t care less what the people think. When elections come around, they know they can always fall back on race and religion to stay in power.
[9] There was a time when the national football team – powered by true-blue Malaysians no less – made the nation proud. Men like Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aung and Santokh Singh became legends in our pantheon of national heroes. Since then so many things have gone wrong. Discriminatory recruitment policies no doubt played a part too. Instead of attending to the issues, they took the easy way out by importing foreign players. They call them “heritage” players, but these players have really no part of our heritage, no pride in our nation, no commitment to its future. They are just hired hands, mercenaries willing to call any country their own for the right price.
[Dennis Ignatius |Kuala Lumpur | 19 October 2025
[1] Fans, critics say ‘many unanswered questions’ on Malaysia football scandal, as minister defends citizenship process |CAN |09 Oct 2025 [2] No harm in giving athletes citizenship for ‘national agenda’, says Puad |Malaysiakini |10 Oct 2025 [3] Yeoh lauds Saifuddin after ‘must stateless kids play football’ post dug up |Malaysiakini |10 Oct 2025 [4] ‘Sensationally damning’: Malaysian football rocked by naturalisation scandal |The Guardian |08 Oct 2025
Dennis Ignatius 
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