Kampar MP Chong Zhemin has submitted a notice of motion to the office of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, calling for a debate in the lower house of the findings disclosed by Fifa in its judgment disputing the Malaysian heritage of seven footballers it had sanctioned.
In the notice, Chong said the matter raised serious concerns regarding transparency in national sports governance, the athlete naturalisation process, and the oversight of official national documents.
“There is a possibility of legal violations involving the forgery of official documents, warranting thorough investigation and prompt action by the authorities. Therefore, this matter clearly constitutes an urgent public interest issue,” he said.
Chong said the Dewan Rakyat should debate on the government’s immediate actions, including an explanation to the public of the possible administrative, disciplinary, and legal measures to be taken against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and any individuals involved.
He said the lower house should also discuss the need for a royal commission of inquiry into the cause of the alleged failure to verify the players’ eligibility and whether any forgery of official documents had occurred.
Chong said the lower house should consider a comprehensive audit of all ongoing athlete naturalisation cases and stricter guidelines and verification procedures, including cross-checks with original foreign records before any confirmation of eligibility to international sports bodies.
Fifa’s full written grounds on the disciplinary case against FAM said that the certificates submitted in the eligibility proceedings for the players had been forged.
The players involved are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
Fifa said its secretariat had obtained the original birth certificates of the players’ grandparents directly from foreign registries and compared them with those filed by FAM.
The results showed that details in the players’ ancestral records had been altered, with their grandparents’ birthplaces changed from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and the Netherlands in the original documents to places in Melaka, Penang, Johor, and Sarawak.
FAM has reiterated its decision to appeal against Fifa’s sanctions, saying the international football organisation provided no evidence to support its claims.
Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh meanwhile urged FAM to respond openly to Fifa’s findings, saying that Malaysian football supporters were “hurt, angry, and disappointed”.
