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Malaysia is usually a hotbed of political shenanigans and recently even diplomatic ones as debate continues to rage over peace and trade deals inked at the sidelines of the Asean summit that Kuala Lumpur hosted.
These debates are often divisive, such as the bromance between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump, as they danced on the tarmac after the latter had landed in Malaysia.
But sports, they say, can unite a nation. Even in scandal.
After a saga which stretched back to September, FIFA has dismissed Malaysia’s appeals against a sanction on its football association as well as seven supposedly naturalised players. The world’s governing body for football deemed the seven men who played for the national team used forged documents.
The Football Association of Malaysia has said it would take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But our correspondent Hadi Azmi has found that few fans believe that it is anything other than a shameful scandal.
For example, UK-based Malaysian football fanatic Syafiq Abdul Rahman had all the while thought “it was all too good to be true, that all these good players somehow have roots in Malaysia.”
“But even if it was true, why was it necessary to fast track their citizenship at the cost of Malaysia’s integrity? To me they are just diluting citizenship for football. It makes citizenship a joke,” he told Hadi.
And for parents of children who hope to don the yellow-and-black-striped Harimau Malaya jersey one day, the episode is simply disheartening.
“Malaysian football has lost its way. What is the point of developing local talents when we end up being so reliant on outside talents so much so that we bend all the rules just to get them to play for our side? It is demotivating for younger players when they see this happening,” said Mr Mohamad Ramzan, whose son is playing in a local development league.
Meanwhile, passengers were left in the lurch after Malaysian authorities suspended popular express bus service Aeroline for not operating from an out-of-town transport hub.
Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency said the company breached regulations by operating from unauthorised locations in the Malaysian capital.
Here at ST, we hope to help our readers deepen their understanding of Malaysia with this weekly newsletter, and podcast every two months. If you’d like to see a particular issue covered by the bureau, send us your suggestions or feedback here.
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