PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) could run foul with the Sports Commissioner if the independent investigation find them guilty for producing forged documents of mixed-heritage players.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh told Parliament yesterday that the Government will wait for the findings of an independent investigation into the document forgery scandal involving seven Harimau Malaya heritage players before referring the matter to the Sports Commissioner.
Hannah said two parallel processes were currently underway – the FAM’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and an independent probe chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif.
On Tuesday, FAM confirmed that they would proceed with their appeal to CAS following FIFA’s ruling against Malaysia.
She stressed that the scope of the independent investigation is aligned with Paragraph 246 of the FIFA appeal committee’s 65-page report, which did not identify who was responsible for the forged documents submitted for player naturalisation.
“Therefore, Tun Raus’ investigation aims to identify the culprit,” she said, noting that media reports suggest the probe is expected to conclude within weeks.
Hannah said she has requested the Sports Commissioner to review the findings as soon as the report was ready and to cooperate fully should corrective action be needed.
“The Youth and Sports Ministry will adopt any findings from this investigation committee to ensure this does not happen again,” she said.
However, she emphasised that action under the Sports Development Act can only be considered after FAM exhaust all available legal avenues.
“The option to go to the Sports Commissioner would only happen after FAM have completed their legal processes. For now, we must be patient before we take any action,” she said.
Responding to public calls for ministerial intervention, Hannah clarified that she had no authority to interfere in executive committee matters of national sports bodies.
“The minister cannot issue any instruction to the executive committee of FAM. Someone wrote that the minister must sack everyone in the footballing body – this is not within my power.
“If I do so, then FIFA will step in and ban FAM citing government interference,” before detailing football associations in various nations impacted by it.
Hannah noted that while the national senior squad currently comprises about 40% Malaysian-born players, the younger age-group teams are entirely made up of local talent, highlighting the importance of safeguarding integrity in the game.
