A cover-up presumes a discovery had been made. Something must first be unearthed before it can be buried. But when no investigation is ever launched - when the ground remains deliberately untouched, what is there to hide?
The answer, quite simply, is everything.
This is the perplexing context of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent assurance that there would be “no cover-up” in the scandal involving the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) registration of seven heritage players.
The statement is logically strange because a cover-up is precisely what occurs when an investigation is prevented from starting.
When the scandal broke in late September, Malaysia’s two foremost investigative agencies were immediately dismissive. Both the MACC and the police swiftly denied that any offence had been committed.
This stands in stark contrast to the findings of Fifa’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed that forgery had occurred and fraud had been perpetrated.
Yet, the prime minister insists the cabinet has decided against a cover-up. He declared, “Go ahead and investigate,” while simultaneously downplaying Fifa’s authority: “We don’t decide to act purely based on Fifa.”
Authorities quick to dismiss criminality
This creates a baffling contradiction. The Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) mandates that individuals aware of an offence must report it. This duty was fulfilled when Urimai leader Satees Muniandy lodged a police report.
The response? A week later, police refused to investigate, claiming “no elements of a criminal offence”. MACC chief Azam Baki echoed this, dismissing the case as a mere “technical issue.”
The Youth and Sports Ministry and the sports commissioner erroneously believe that their investigations will incur the wrath of Fifa, which frowns on government intervention.
This leads to the most critical question: How can we expect the police and the MACC to conduct a full, independent probe when they have already publicly declared their preconceived conclusion that no crime was committed?
Their judgment was passed before any inquiry began. The ground was never broken, so there was nothing to cover up - except the entire scandal. By refusing to look, they have already buried the truth.
Administrative ‘help’
Public anger - echoed by lawmakers - has turned on the FAM hierarchy, with calls for heads to roll over their role in producing and presenting forged documents.
Yet behind the scenes, the government itself, through the National Registration Department (NRD), looms as the apparent architect of the fraud.
Consider the stunning contradiction: While individuals who have lived here for decades await citizenship, how did seven twenty-something foreigners obtain their papers within months of arriving?
In two cases, citizenship was approved within just 40 days of application - a dubious record by any measure.
According to NRD director-general Badrul Hisham Alias, the players submitted details of their grandparents, which were cross-verified with authorities in Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
He stated that the NRD was unable to retrieve original handwritten birth records, but, “in line with current administrative practice,” issued official copies based on the evidence provided.
This, as Fifa’s disciplinary committee concluded, was blatant lies - fabricated to justify the production of false certificates.
In their own submissions, all seven players admitted they did not even read the citizenship applications.
Under these circumstances, can anyone be blamed for having zero faith in the NRD? Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s defence in Parliament did no better.
He claimed he exercised his power under the Constitution to consider the footballers fit for citizenship, citing Article 20(1)(e) regarding residency requirements.
However, as constitutional experts have pointed out, this provision applies only to calculating residence periods for individuals who have already lived in Malaysia, not to those who have never resided here.
World-renown cheat
Ten days ago, in an open letter to the prime minister, I wrote about how unseen hands had been directing civil servants to break the law.
Knowing that has a special link to football, allocating funds for the team, I wrote: “Therefore, Mr Prime Minister, for the sake of clarity, accountability, and transparency, you must come clean. You must tell us, Malaysians, your role in this sordid exercise for which FAM thanked you profusely.”
Nothing had been forthcoming until a new catch-phrase - “no cover-up” - emerged. But how do we go forward?
It is worth reiterating that this scandal is not merely about football. It is a weighty failure of accountability that implicates the highest levels of our investigative and administrative institutions.
The reading is clear: the problem should go away, forgotten, archived, hidden behind procedural technicalities and constitutional misinterpretations.
Yet it will continue to surface. Like former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and 1MDB, whenever Malaysia is mentioned, it is inextricably linked to the “largest kleptocracy in history.”
Now, we have an added reference: cheats on and off the field. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN says the issue of forged certificates will not go away with pronouncements and diktats. The truth must come to light if Malaysians are ever to regain trust in the system. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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