PUTRAJAYA: The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has uncovered irregularities in the approval process for Malaysian citizenship granted to seven heritage footballers, following an investigation into a complaint against the National Registration Department (NRD).
The commission said it had set up a special task force under Section 17 of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission Act 2009 to probe the matter.
"The investigation involved both the NRD and the Immigration Department, which are agencies under the Home Ministry responsible for processing and approving permanent residency and citizenship applications through naturalisation.
"The task force had examined various documents related to the seven players, including from the NRD and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
"It also recorded statements from 15 officers under investigation from various agencies and five members of the public, while reviewing relevant laws, regulations and circulars," the commission said in a statement on Friday (July 10).
The commission said its findings showed that the Home Minister has the authority under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution to consider applications for citizenship by naturalisation.
"The minister had exercised his powers and discretion in granting special approval to the players, taking into account their contribution to football and the potential to bring glory to the country under Article 19(2) read together with Section 20(1)(e) of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
"However, the task force found that consideration of the requirements for the special approvals had been carried out within an extremely short period and in an irregular manner," it added.
Among the issues identified were irregularities in the issuance of entry permits involving the interview process and security screening conducted by the Immigration Department on the players.
The commission also found issues involving the handling of security screening by the Immigration Department and the Malay language proficiency test conducted by NRD for citizenship approval purposes.
It further highlighted non-compliance in the verification of renunciation of the players’ original citizenship by the authorities of their home countries, as well as failure to comply with the requirement to surrender their foreign passports to the Immigration Department.
Following the findings, the EAIC recommended that NRD and the Home Ministry review the entire citizenship naturalisation process and all related documents involving the seven footballers whose citizenship was approved under Article 19(2) of the Federal Constitution.
It also proposed the creation of clearer guidelines on the exercise of discretionary powers under the law, particularly in cases involving special circumstances, while taking into account the constitutional requirement of residency in Malaysia as a key basis for citizenship.
The commission further recommended that NRD and the Home Ministry establish a specific standard operating procedure (SOP) for granting citizenship under Article 19(2), as well as an SOP on the renunciation of original citizenship by foreigners who acquire Malaysian citizenship.
It said this was necessary as the Federal Constitution does not recognise dual citizenship, and the NRD should set a time frame requiring proof of renunciation of original citizenship, together with penalties for failure to comply.
EAIC also called on NRD to formulate guidelines on the exercise of the Registrar-General’s discretionary powers, particularly in the issuance of birth certificates under Section 10A of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, stressing that such powers should only be exercised after due diligence is carried out and sufficient proof of birth is established.
The commission also urged the Immigration Department, NRD and the police to introduce a specific SOP for stricter and more comprehensive security screening procedures for entry permit and citizenship approvals.
“Citizenship by naturalisation is a matter involving national interest and security. Therefore, the SOPs in force must be monitored and strictly complied with by the Immigration Department and NRD,” it said.
The EAIC said its investigation report had been submitted to the Home Ministry, the Immigration Department and the NRD for further action.
The commission also noted that police reports had been lodged over allegations of document forgery which were ruled to be fake by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
It said the alleged forgery should be thoroughly investigated by the relevant authorities and referred to the appropriate parties, as the matter falls outside EAIC’s jurisdiction under the Act.
