PUTRAJAYA: The National Registration Department (NRD) and the Home Ministry should review the entire citizenship naturalisation process and all related documents involving the seven heritage footballers, says the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).
In recommending this, the EAIC said irregularities were detected in the approval process for the seven players, whose citizenship was approved under Article 19(2) of the Federal Constitution.
The matter came to light following an investigation into a complaint against the NRD.
“We 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,” it said in a statement yesterday.
The EAIC further recommended that the NRD and the 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.
“This is necessary as the Constitution does not recognise dual citizenship. The NRD should set a time frame requiring proof of renunciation of original citizenship, together with penalties for failure to comply,” it said.
The EAIC also called on the 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, stressing that such powers should only be exercised after due diligence is carried out and sufficient proof of birth is established.
“The Immigration Department, the NRD and the police should 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,” it said.
The investigation report had been submitted to the ministry, the Immigration Department and the NRD for further action.
On the findings, the EAIC 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 task force had examined various documents related to the seven players, including from the NRD and the Football Association of Malaysia.
“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,” it said.
The findings showed that the Home Minister has the authority under Article 19 of the 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.
“However, it was 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 said.
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.
Other issues involved the handling of security screening by the Immigration Department and the Malay language proficiency test conducted by the NRD for citizenship approval purposes.
It also detected 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.
