Why are we naturalising older footballers, asks KJ

 

The Football Association of Malaysia’s policy of naturalising foreign players for the national team has been criticised regularly. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Khairy Jamaluddin says it is unjust to provide citizenship to older footballers who may be past their prime.

The Football Association of Malaysia’s policy of naturalising foreign players for the national team has regularly come under scrutiny from former national players and the general public.

A former youth and sports minister, Khairy said today that naturalising older foreign players was a “huge insult” to Malaysian mothers who had long been fighting for their children’s citizenship rights.

“What really upset me in the Cabinet was when this paper came in proposing citizenships for (foreign) footballers.

“And I thought, ‘Well, if he’s young, say 23 years old with plenty of time to play for Malaysia, then that’s fine.’ But he was 36.

“At that age, why were we offering him citizenship? He’s not even eligible to play for the national team.”

Khairy, who was speaking at a forum titled “Politics 101: Politics, Policies & Personal Journeys with Khairy Jamaluddin” here tonight, was responding to a question from the audience regarding his views about proposed constitutional amendments related to the granting of citizenship.

In 2021, the High Court ruled that Malaysian mothers have equal rights to pass their citizenship to their overseas-born children.

On Aug 5, 2022, the Court of Appeal, by a majority of 2 to 1, overturned the landmark ruling by the High Court. The case is now pending in the Federal Court.

In February last year, the Cabinet agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to enable automatic Malaysian citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, with the amendment slated to be tabled in the following Dewan Rakyat sitting.

But to date, no change in the legislation has been made.

Khairy said he did not agree with Malaysian mothers not having the right to automatically pass on their citizenship to their children, adding that he was “uncomfortable” with such discussions when they were held during Cabinet meetings.

“Until today, I don’t understand the home ministry’s stance,” he said.

“For me, you can make any excuse you want. The excuses given were often quite sexist, such as, ‘Oh, women will just leave, they won’t stay in Malaysia’,” he said.

“It’s a really weak excuse.” - FMT