NOVEMBER 3 — It’s most disappointing that there was a severe backlash against the recent action of the Malaysian authorities to fast-track the citizenship of seven foreign footballers.
According to the authorities, the players’ grandparents had resided in our multiethnic country a long time ago, possibly prior to the implementation of the Malaysia My Second Home programme.
Their residency, the authorities pointed out, gave legitimacy to the players’ current status of naturalised citizens.
Given Malaysia’s diverse population and cultures, one would obviously expect Malaysians to be magnanimous enough to embrace the players from Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands and Spain wholeheartedly. That’s the richness of life in diversity.
After all, the players have the much-needed prowess to help raise our national profile on the world stage or rather, in the global football field. A shot in the arm was what we sorely required to get our feet back on the ground.
In the midst of this furore, the seven “heritage” players were sadly suspended for one year and fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) each by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) who insisted that the footballers weren’t Malaysian despite protestation from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
They’ve the necessary documents, thundered FAM, who subsequently appealed the Fifa decision. The final Fifa word on the appeal is nervously awaited.
Apart from having ancestry rooted in this land, it is comforting to know that these players are conversant in our national language. Language proficiency, as we all know, is one of the prerequisites for being a Malaysian citizen.
Although dribbling a ball doesn’t require much use of any language, a knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia may come in handy in certain circumstances.
For example, it may help the “heritage” players to be alert to any attempt to deceive them through the fine prints of, say, a legal document pertaining to a pizza joint purchase written in the national language.
Anyway, such a linguistic grasp would also enable the players to sing – with much melody – the national anthem, Negara-ku, in a public space such as a stadium, as expected of any true-blue Malaysians.
An ability to fly the Jalur Gemilang the proper way would be an added value to their patriotism. By now, they ought to be aware of how meticulous patriotic Malaysians are when it comes to flying the national flag.
Some detractors, however, argued that we should instead look elsewhere in our country for local-born footballers.
There is, they insisted, a rich reservoir of talents in schools that is waiting to be harnessed.
Given that a football game requires strict discipline and keeping an eye on the ball, this regimen may not, unfortunately, suit many of our school children these days.
In particular, the students have a short attention span, as they’ve been generally “schooled” by social media. One moment, they’re studying, the next they’re passionately bullying fellow students they consider “weak”.
You can’t have good teamwork in the field when there are bullies ready to move the goalposts, and even to the extent of scoring their own goals. Besides, such a scenario would be nightmarish for those keen on placing bets on matches.
A good referee, who keeps a high standard and a code of ethical conduct, wouldn’t play ball with the bullies.
Fifa would frown on such bad behaviour, too, as a line is consciously drawn for a game to be played well with integrity and honour.
Following the brouhaha over the “heritage” players, an idea was floated around in the desperate search for talents who can help reclaim fame and honour for the country’s football ecosystem.
It was suggested that among the many stateless children who are residing in Malaysia, there are some who have the incurable passion for football.
But there’s a catch: their collective goal at the moment is to gain Malaysian citizenship they’ve been yearning for all these years.
It would seem that the ball is firmly in the court of the Malaysian authorities.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
