A long ball to nowhere: Accountability in Malaysia’s football fiasco
Malaysia’s heritage-player scandal is the latest test of PM Anwar’s reformasi promise that impunity belongs in the past.
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The Malaysian football authorities stand accused of being party to falsifying naturalisation documents so that seven foreign-born players could turn out for the national team.
PHOTO: BERNAMA
As Singapore football fans’ nail-biting in front of screens turned into ecstasy on Nov 18, watching the men’s team clinch historic qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup, the mood across the Causeway could not have been more different.
It is true that, playing at Bukit Jalil Stadium that same night, the Malaysian “Harimau Malaya” beat Nepal 1-0 to maintain their perfect record on the road to Saudi Arabia.