10 steps to burnish football's tarnished image

 

It’s the most shameful episode in the history of football in Malaysia. We have been caught with our soccer shorts down, exposing alleged falsification and forgery of documents for seven totally foreign players to enable them to play for the country.

The seven “heritage” footballers granted Malaysian citizenship don't have any grandparents born in the country, the football governing body International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) asserted.

Fifa has claimed that it has sighted original documents and gone so far as to allege that the birthplace documents it received from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had been doctored. However, FAM refuted this.

In its defence, the national football governing body also claimed that the documentation issues involving the players arose from an administrative mistake, where a staff member accidentally uploaded documents from a player agent instead of the official copies issued by the National Registration Department (NRD).

FAM also said that an official appeal is being prepared using original and authentic documents verified by the Malaysian government.

This reflects the sad state of football in the country and the level of incompetence and alleged corruptibility at the top.

Fifa has slapped FAM with a fine of RM1.9 million and the players with a fine of RM10,500 each and a 12-month suspension. FAM meekly stuck to its story and said it can’t reveal further information because of the Official Secrets Act, already indicating a cover-up.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, meanwhile, maintained in the Dewan Rakyat that all information for the birth certificates was submitted by the players themselves, and insisted that the NRD director-general had not erred in his decision to register the grandparents’ birth.

This Madani government has put the fight against corruption at the top of its agenda, but strangely, the MACC has decided to let FAM deal with the question of doctored documents.

Let’s start from there for our first steps, and then move towards what should be done about the poor state of football in the country. Here are our 10 steps:

Get the top officials of the FAM to step down

This is necessary to remove hindrances to any thorough investigation. They have not shown themselves responsive to the seriousness of the offences and the national embarrassment caused.

It would also pave the way for getting to the bottom of this heinous scandal.

FAM must make a police report

It is necessary to do this because forgery and falsification, which have already caused FAM RM1.9 million, are serious offences.

If this is true, it is necessary to establish how far our NRD is compromised and take immediate corrective action and the necessary deterrence through appropriate punishment.

Undertake an independent investigative audit

The new FAM exco should appoint a firm of auditors to mount an independent investigative audit of the entire process and bring to book those who are directly or indirectly responsible, no matter who they are.

Home Ministry must launch its own investigation

A key question is whether there were irregularities in the processes within the NRD to issue documents which were falsified and doctored, and to determine the perpetrators.

This is vital to maintain confidence in an important government function. We must have an NRD which is totally above board.

Pull the MACC into the investigations

There may have been corruption when a government department obliges the aims of an organisation, FAM, for private gain by purportedly providing false documents.

Bringing in MACC in addition to the police also brings in more expertise.

Get true Malaysians to play for country, state and league

There should be a policy to use only Malaysians to play for the country, state and league - without exception - preferably those who were born and bred here, if not bona fide citizens who have satisfied all criteria set by the NRD, not manufacture them.

There must be no shortcuts for their citizenship. That will ensure that any glory gained - or lost - will truly belong to Malaysians, not earned by foreign mercenaries who battle on the football pitch.

Get new top officials who are good

Replace the current crop at the top with capable people who have a good record and who understand what the game is all about, what needs to be done to improve it and to work at it long-term over five years or more.

A great football team can’t be built overnight with imported players.

Improve Malaysian football without imports

That requires more work and a programme for the development of football in Malaysia, which is systematic, independent, unbiased, competent and comprehensive.

Here you can use foreign expertise selectively, but try the locals first - give them a chance to do the job. It’s high time we realised there are many foreign frauds out there.

The most obvious targets are the schools

As with all sports, the schools are the most obvious starting place. The FAM needs to work with schools to see how they can increase interest in the games, encourage talents, spot them, and follow through with training programmes.

Work without fear or favour

This requires some proper delegation of duties from the top. Constant interference from the top and those outside the responsible organisations can lead to a situation of multiple bosses, which tends to pull people in different directions and diffuse focus.

These are not exactly rocket science. But the common sense required to carry it through to completion is in rather short supply these days due to undue interference from others and the poor choice of people who are to execute long-term plans.

These are things for an enlightened leadership to sort out at the highest levels. If that’s done, there is a decent chance to revive our football prowess over time to levels in the seventies and eighties when we were continually a regional powerhouse. - Mkini

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P GUNASEGARAM says shortcuts are punctuated with pitfalls.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.