Last December, a stateless teenager known only as CJ won a landmark court battle for recognition as a Malaysian citizen and the right to obtain a MyKad.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the Home Ministry and National Registration Department (NRD) to issue the document within 30 days of his application.
Yet months later, according to Lawyers for Liberty, CJ was being given the runaround. The 17-year-old, who has been trying to obtain an identity card since he was 12, was allegedly even denied the application form needed to comply with the court's order. However, NRD denied this, stating that several administrative issues needed to be ironed out.
Contrast this with the treatment accorded to seven foreign footballers who admitted submitting false information in their citizenship applications.
In proceedings before the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), they acknowledged they had not read the documents filed on their behalf, including declarations stating they had lived in Malaysia for at least 10 years.
They also admitted they could not speak Bahasa Malaysia, a requirement for naturalisation.
Despite these revelations and Fifa's subsequent suspensions for, among other offences, submitting falsified documents, the seven remain Malaysian citizens.
The obvious question is this: Why is a Malaysian-born teenager forced to fight for years, and even return to court, to secure a right affirmed by a judge, while foreign applicants linked to false citizenship claims appear to have encountered no such obstacles?
Hands of the powerful
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Parliament he had exercised his power granted under the Constitution to consider the seven "heritage" footballers as fit to be granted Malaysian citizenship.
He said Article 20(1)(e) provides discretionary power to a home minister when considering a citizenship application from a foreigner, particularly in the fulfilment of the minimum residency requirements.
/file/attachments/orphans/SaifuddinNasutionIsmailsdfasds_358425.png)
However, human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen pointed out that Article 19 sets out strict conditions for naturalisation - the applicant must have resided in Malaysia for at least 10 years, be of good character, and demonstrate adequate knowledge of the Malay language.
"These are the preconditions to applying for naturalisation. The seven players from Argentina, Brazil and Spain who until recently have not resided in the country could not have satisfied the period of residence requirement," he said.
Paulsen said the home minister claimed that the seven so-called heritage players were naturalised properly via Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, which the latter said covered individuals with family ties to Malaysia through their parents, grandparents or ancestors, including those who had lived in or originated from the country.
“Such a take, acquiring citizenship through lineage for those whose forefathers were born or were permanent residents in the territory that is now Malaysia, is not found in Article 19," Paulsen told Malaysiakini.
Not living in M'sia a-okay...
But last month, Saifuddin dropped another bombshell: the Federal Constitution empowers the home minister to grant exemptions and treat time spent abroad as though it were residence in Malaysia.
“He is from Argentina. Was there any period of residing in this country? The answer is no,” Saifuddin said.
"However, under the Federal Constitution, the home minister can grant an exemption. That means the period he was in Argentina or Spain can be considered as residing in our country."
/file/publisher-c1a3f893382d2b2f8a9aa22a654d9c97/2025/11/e3c236c1b79cd745af79933463638489.png)
In an immediate response, I wrote: “Utter bunkum! If that interpretation is correct, it raises troubling questions. Does it mean that virtually any foreigner, regardless of where he resides, can be granted Malaysian citizenship simply because the minister chooses to exercise this discretionary power?”
Now, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) – the organisation that started it all by using foreigners to strengthen its team - is claiming that they are Malaysian citizens.
Why hasn’t the ministry prosecuted the seven players or FAM itself when the players, in their statements to Fifa, said that the application forms were handled by FAM?
This is no longer merely about seven footballers or one stateless teenager. It is about whether citizenship in Malaysia is governed by the Constitution and the rule of law, or by discretion exercised without accountability.
CJ was born here, grew up here, and had to fight all the way to the High Court to obtain rights that should never have been denied to him. Even after winning, he was allegedly forced to endure further obstacles.
/file/publisher-c1a3f893382d2b2f8a9aa22a654d9c97/2026/01/5e9200c317a97d2857b8c68d1dd6585e.jpg)
Yet seven foreign players whose applications became the subject of adverse findings by Fifa continue to enjoy the privileges of Malaysian citizenship without any visible action against them.
The Home Ministry cannot have it both ways. If false declarations in citizenship applications are serious enough to attract penalties under the law, then the law must be applied consistently.
If those declarations were made by others on behalf of the players, then the authorities must determine who was responsible and whether offences were committed. Either way, Malaysians deserve answers.
The real scandal is not that questions are being asked. The scandal is that they remain unanswered.
Until the government explains why a Malaysian-born teenager was made to fight for years for his identity while foreign applicants linked to questionable citizenship claims were ushered through the system, public confidence in the integrity of the citizenship process will continue to erode.
Citizenship is not a football trophy to be awarded for convenience, expediency or sporting ambition. It is the highest bond between an individual and the nation.
Malaysians have every right to demand that it be conferred lawfully, transparently and equally, regardless of whether the applicant is a stateless teenager named CJ or a football star wearing national colours. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who tries to live up to the ethos of civil rights leader John Lewis: “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.