‘Apa Khabar?’ and the price of Malaysian citizenship

The home minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, explained that foreign footballers were coached on basic Malay phrases before their citizenship interviews. He claimed that understanding these phrases, such as “Apa khabar?” (How are you?) and “Terima kasih” (Thank you), was sufficient for citizenship approval. However, the controversy surrounding the seven players extends beyond just a language test.

Investigations by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) revealed irregularities in the citizenship approvals, including the use of falsified documents in the naturalization and eligibility process. FIFA found that the players had used fraudulent documents to claim Malaysian family links. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld these findings and imposed a 12-month suspension on the players, while the Malaysian Football Federation (FAM) received a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs.

The EAIC called for a review of the citizenship files, questioning the proper scrutiny of the applications and supporting documents. The government must also address the shortcomings in security screening, the Malay language test, and checks on the renunciation of foreign citizenship. The issue goes beyond constitutional powers; it demands that the government provide evidence supporting the approvals and account for the irregularities identified by the EAIC.