R Nadeswaran
Published: Jul 11, 2026 7:00 AM
Updated: 10:16 AM
COMMENT | The findings were never in doubt. They lied. They stalled. They denied. And still, the truth emerged. Beneath the bravado and defiance lies something more troubling - the erosion of trust in institutions meant to safeguard citizenship.
For ordinary Malaysians who wait years, sometimes decades, for recognition of their rightful status, watching seven foreign footballers breeze through a flawed process is not just infuriating, it is heartbreaking.
The National Registration Department (NRD) rushed through the procedures to grant Malaysian citizenship to these players in an irregular fashion.
This is not new. Commentators, this writer included, had flagged the flaws as early as September last year, but as the issue dragged on, the evidence recorded by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) Appeals Committee revealed falsification and forgery of documents.
The players could not speak Malay, did not meet the 10-year residency requirement, and yet excuses were piled high to justify the unjustifiable.
NRD head, Badrul Hisham Alias, and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail insisted they had exercised powers that were later proven non-existent. They clung to procedure as a shield, even as the cracks widened.
Exposing NRD’s failings
Yesterday, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) delivered a fitting riposte, exposing not only the NRD’s failings but also drawing in a third government department - immigration - into this sham.
It has laid bare the irregularities that critics long suspected. Citizenship approvals were rushed through in an unusually short period, entry permits were issued without proper interviews or security screenings, and the Malay language test was mishandled.
Published: Jul 11, 2026 7:00 AM
Updated: 10:16 AM
COMMENT | The findings were never in doubt. They lied. They stalled. They denied. And still, the truth emerged. Beneath the bravado and defiance lies something more troubling - the erosion of trust in institutions meant to safeguard citizenship.
For ordinary Malaysians who wait years, sometimes decades, for recognition of their rightful status, watching seven foreign footballers breeze through a flawed process is not just infuriating, it is heartbreaking.
The National Registration Department (NRD) rushed through the procedures to grant Malaysian citizenship to these players in an irregular fashion.
This is not new. Commentators, this writer included, had flagged the flaws as early as September last year, but as the issue dragged on, the evidence recorded by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) Appeals Committee revealed falsification and forgery of documents.
The players could not speak Malay, did not meet the 10-year residency requirement, and yet excuses were piled high to justify the unjustifiable.
NRD head, Badrul Hisham Alias, and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail insisted they had exercised powers that were later proven non-existent. They clung to procedure as a shield, even as the cracks widened.
Exposing NRD’s failings
Yesterday, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) delivered a fitting riposte, exposing not only the NRD’s failings but also drawing in a third government department - immigration - into this sham.
It has laid bare the irregularities that critics long suspected. Citizenship approvals were rushed through in an unusually short period, entry permits were issued without proper interviews or security screenings, and the Malay language test was mishandled.
More damning still, the players failed to surrender their foreign passports, and authorities did not properly verify renunciation of their original citizenships.
The EAIC concluded that ministerial discretion was exercised without safeguards, and urged reforms - from clear standard operating procedures to mandatory timelines for renunciation - to prevent future abuse.
These findings are not minor technicalities; they are systemic failures that cheapen citizenship and betray Malaysians who wait years for recognition.
The findings were damning: from the issuance of entry passes by Immigration to the failure to submit the players’ original passports, every step reeked of irregularity. The brazenness of seven foreigners, newly arrived and already defiant, suggests the presence of “heavyweights” lurking in the shadows.
Don’t let report gather dust
Ordinary Malaysians, meanwhile, are left to wonder why their own painstaking applications are treated with suspicion while shortcuts are carved out for outsiders in the name of football glory.
This fiasco is not just about seven footballers. It is about the betrayal of trust, the corrosion of integrity, and the mockery of citizenship itself. For every Malaysian child born stateless, for every family waiting years for recognition, this episode is a slap in the face.
The seven ‘heritage’ footballers at the centre of the scandal
Citizenship is not a commodity to be traded for sporting advantage. It is a solemn bond between the individual and the nation. When institutions bend the rules for convenience, they erode the very foundation of belonging.
The EAIC’s findings must not end as another report gathering dust. Accountability must be demanded, reforms must be enacted, and those who orchestrated this charade must be named and shamed.
Is it a Malaysian malaise or a convention that errant civil servants are beyond reproach? Will those whose hands were soiled in such a disreputable exercise walk free? Or perhaps get a promotion and collect a healthy pension upon retirement.
Malaysia deserves better than a system where power is abused, documents are forged, and citizenship is cheapened. The lesson is clear: if we allow shadows to dictate the fate of our nation, we are all doomed.
Citizenship is not a commodity to be traded for sporting advantage. It is a solemn bond between the individual and the nation. When institutions bend the rules for convenience, they erode the very foundation of belonging.
The EAIC’s findings must not end as another report gathering dust. Accountability must be demanded, reforms must be enacted, and those who orchestrated this charade must be named and shamed.
Is it a Malaysian malaise or a convention that errant civil servants are beyond reproach? Will those whose hands were soiled in such a disreputable exercise walk free? Or perhaps get a promotion and collect a healthy pension upon retirement.
Malaysia deserves better than a system where power is abused, documents are forged, and citizenship is cheapened. The lesson is clear: if we allow shadows to dictate the fate of our nation, we are all doomed.
R NADESWARAN says the NRD’s “instant citizenship” approval for foreign (not heritage) footballers has been called out by the EAIC, but offers little comfort to thousands of locals who have been waiting for years, if not decades, for citizenship. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
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We are in line for FIFA's PUS Prize
No official involved will receive any punishment, because they had a "backing mountain".
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