KUALA LUMPUR: The seven mixed-heritage footballers at the centre of a controversy over their legitimacy in playing for Harimau Malaya had fulfilled all criteria under the Federal Constitution, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).
The Home Minister said the criteria, under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, which covers citizenship by naturalisation, comprises three pillars.
Under Article 19, the criteria are that the applicant must have resided in the Federation for 10 years in the last 12 years, be of good character and have adequate knowledge of the Malay 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? Yes.
“For the matters raised by Fifa, that falls under the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Let them resolve that dispute.
“From the context of the Federal Constitution, it is very clear,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Saifuddin Nasution added that since 2018, some 23 foreign nationals had been naturalised to play for the national team.
He was responding to Kangar MP Zakri Hassan who asked about the matter.
According to Saifuddin Nasution, the Federal Constitution also states that the Home Minister has the discretion to waive the residential requirement of the applicant.
“This is not the first time it has been applied. It is for situations where the applicants can contribute to the country. They could be engineers, doctors, scientists and more,” he said.
At a press conference later, the Home Minister stressed that the National Registration Department (NRD) did not falsify any documents.
According to him, the birth certificates issued by NRD were in accordance with the law, adding that Fifa rules set four criteria for national team eligibility.
These are birthplace in the country, parents’ birthplace in the country, grandparents’ birthplace in the country, or five years’ residency in the country.
“Under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, there is no need to present grandparents’ birth certificates.
“Either way, we have complied with all legislation on citizenship applications,” he added.
On Monday, Fifa’s Disciplinary Committee ruled that FAM had submitted forged documents to register seven heritage players.
The committee discovered major discrepancies between the original birth certificates obtained by Fifa and the ones submitted by FAM to support the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia.
Under Fifa rules, a player is eligible to play for a country other than the one he was born in if one biological parent was born there, or a grandparent was born there or had lived continuously in that country for at least two years.
The seven players involved are Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Joao Figueiredo.
Fifa found both FAM and the players guilty of breaching Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, which pertains to the falsification and use of forged documents in official proceedings.
FAM has since refuted Fifa’s findings, saying that the description provided in the world body’s judgement is inaccurate and that the seven mixed-heritage players did not knowingly use falsified documents.
In a statement on Tuesday, FAM said Fifa’s claim that the players “obtained or were aware of forged documents” was unfounded.
FAM clarified that the issue arose from a wrong submission, describing it as an administrative error when a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents obtained from an agent instead of the official records issued by NRD.
An official appeal is being prepared with authentic, government-certified documents, FAM said.
