RIGHTS group, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), has criticised Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for defending Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution amid a deepening citizenship scandal involving seven Harimau Malaya players.
LFL director Zaid Malek called Yeoh tone-deaf for praising Saifuddin’s compassion and efficiency despite revelations that forged documents were used to fast-track citizenship for the footballers.
He said such praise was shocking and embarrassing given the government’s recent attempts to introduce what he described as the most regressive constitutional amendments that would worsen statelessness.
“”The only compassion’ and ‘efficiency as claimed by Hannah that the public can see from Saifuddin seems to be reserved for the seven football players,” said Zaid Malek, who added that thousands of deserving Malaysians continue to be denied citizenship.
FIFA earlier confirmed that the players’ naturalisation was based on falsified records, with Malaysia’s National Registration Department issuing documents without the original birth certificates.
Zaid also questioned Yeoh’s claim that Saifuddin cleared 49,000 backlog applications, saying it failed to reflect the thousands still stateless. He urged the government to implement court rulings recognising constitutional citizenship rights and to address systemic failures within the National Registration Department.
The controversy has become one of the biggest challenges for the Anwar administration. —Oct 12, 2025
Main image: Bernama
