Malaysia, the land of endless food, traffic jams, and now, international football scandals.
In case you didn’t know, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) just gave the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) a “nice little slap” in the form of a RM1.8 million fine and a one-year ban for seven “heritage” players.
Apparently, some of their documents didn’t quite add up. According to FAM, someone provided the wrong files to Fifa, implying that it was just a mistake.
Anyone could have done it! Maybe someone misread and clicked on the wrong folder. Maybe the system hung. Who knows? But I guess that didn’t quite fly with Fifa.
Somehow, the excuse feels very Malaysian. We’re a nation of problem-solvers who believe everything can be settled. If you get to work late, “Traffic jam lah, boss.” Didn’t pay parking, “machine rosak (the machine broke down).” Sent dodgy documents to Fifa, “technical error.”
I honestly don’t believe that we’re bad people. We just seem to have a habit of trying to charm our way around rules. And maybe, we’ve started believing we can get away with anything if we say it politely enough.
M’sians not buying it
However, I also think that for many Malaysians, things are changing, and they aren’t buying it anymore. We’ve heard it too many times. We don’t want to be told that everything’s fine because we want to see it.
Show us the actual paperwork and evidence. Don’t just hold a press conference, declare that you didn’t do anything wrong, expect us to quietly believe it and then call it a day. If you really didn’t do anything wrong, then prove it. Simple.
The funny thing is that we’re not even that good at football. I know, that hurts, but come on. Even the most loyal fans know it.
We struggle in Southeast Asia, and our Fifa ranking could fit on the lift buttons of the highest floors of Merdeka 118 Tower. I mean, we celebrate a draw against Laos like it’s a national victory.
It’s funny because it is also quite sad and depressing. We’re like a student who cheats in an exam but still fails. It’s just like watching someone trip over their own football boots’ shoelaces before the game even starts.
The people who feel the most disappointment are probably the hardcore fans. The ones who still paint their faces in yellow and black, fill stadiums, and chant “Harimau Malaya!” loyally, even when the results make them cry. Then, there is the issue of citizenship.
The plight of stateless
It is no secret that there are thousands of people in this country who’ve been waiting their whole lives to be recognised as Malaysians.
The Bajau Laut in Sabah, for example, who have lived in Malaysian waters for generations, but are still stateless.
And the children of Malaysian mothers married to foreigners, who grew up here, speak fluent Malay, know the national anthem by heart, yet have spent years fighting for their right to be citizens.
These people go through years of applications, interviews, and appeals.
But then, here comes a footballer with a grandparent who once travelled to Malacca on holiday and spoke to a Malaysian (please note sarcasm!), and suddenly everything is fast-tracked.
Those stateless children reading the news are probably thinking that if they can play midfield well, then they can get a MyKad!
What is ironic? Recently, Malaysia finally amended the Federal Constitution so that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers (and foreign fathers) automatically qualify for citizenship - the same way it already worked for Malaysian fathers.
It was a positive and historic move, and the government must be applauded for this. And you would think that since everything is legitimate, fair and transparent - the country would be extra careful about who gets citizenship and how.
Home minister’s hollow defence
The government, of course, says everything was done properly. The home minister insists the naturalisation process was by the book. And okay, maybe it was.
But Fifa’s concern isn’t about whether forms were filled out correctly - it’s whether the documents were authentic in the first place.
As we know, FAM is appealing Fifa’s decision, which is a very Malaysian thing because here, when in doubt, appeal. Lose a match? Appeal. Fail an exam? Appeal. Caught doing something questionable? Appeal. But appealing doesn’t fix what’s broken. It just delays everything.
I think most Malaysians are realists when it comes to football. We don’t need to be the best in the world overnight. We just need to stop embarrassing ourselves.
Work hard, play fair on and off the field, and who knows? Maybe one day, instead of saying, “Biasalah, Malaysia,” (It’s normal, Malaysia), we’ll finally get to say, “Boleh tahan, Malaysia!” (Not bad, Malaysia). - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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