KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The government has no plans to turn the country into a “nanny state” for sports by registering its fan base, such as the Ultras Malaya football fans group, minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.

The youth and sports minister said there will be too much “bureaucracy” if Malaysian sports fans have to be registered, confirming that there are also no plans to set up unions to regulate these groups.

“I see that there is no need for the government to go to that level where we become a nanny state, where people who want to support athletes have to register,” the youth and sports minister said during a question and answer session here, later saying that the government will instead engage with them.

Khairy said there were already sport supporter associations that mobilise support for sporting events like the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, while noting that informal groups of sporting fans should be allowed to go on in their existing form.

“For ad hoc groups like Ultras Malaya and others, we don't have any plans or need to register them,” he said.

Khairy said however that sports fans have to comply with laws and rules, with quick action to be taken for those who violate regulations.

Earlier, during the casual engagement session with the public under the #TanyaGomen series, Khairy shared his first-hand account of how the Ultras Malaya had allegedly disrupted an international football match here on Wednesday with flares and firecrackers.

Khairy acknowledged those who had defended the group’s actions as an expression of disappointment against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) over the national team’s shocking 10-0 defeat last week to the United Arab Emirates, but said such actions cannot be excused.

He said the actions of these fans who hurled flares on the pitch and let loose firecracker projectiles towards the crowd had gone beyond violating rules and had put the safety of others at risk.

“Nothing can excuse that behaviour,” he said, having noted that he was sitting with his child directly across the pitch from Ultras Malaya when the flares were fired during the Wednesday match between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

Shah Alam police have said that 11 individuals have been nabbed yesterday night and will be remanded until tomorrow, with the investigation under Section 147 of the Penal Code on suspicion of rioting.

Under Section 147 of the Penal Code states that those convicted face up to two years behind bars, a fine, or both.