November 21, 2025
PETALING JAYA – The Government will temporarily freeze all additional funding to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and suggest a new vetting protocol for naturalised athletes as Putrajaya moves to restore public confidence amid an ongoing document forgery scandal, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh told Parliament on Thursday (Nov 20).
Yeoh said no further allocations will be released to FAM until it addresses accountability concerns stemming from the controversy, which involves falsified documents submitted for naturalisation.
“This is an immediate step while we await the full investigation led by Tun Md Raus Sharif,” she said.
Under the new protocol, any proposal by sports associations to naturalise athletes must first be referred to the National Sports Council (NSC) before being forwarded to the Home Ministry.
Yeoh said NSC’s oversight is crucial because it manages long-term development programmes such as the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and is better positioned to assess whether a national team genuinely requires heritage players.
Despite these reforms, Yeoh stressed that ministry cannot prevent professional clubs from hiring heritage players as FIFA rules permit it.
“But proper processes must be followed to avoid controversies like this,” she said.
The minister also addressed Government support previously extended to the national team, clarifying that the Madani administration had provided substantial financial backing before the scandal unfolded.
This included RM5mil allocated during former coach Kim Pan-gon’s tenure, a recent RM15mil grant for Asian Cup qualification preparations, and an additional RM15mil secured by the Prime Minister from the private sector.
Yeoh emphasised that the Government’s RM15mil grant is strictly designated for strengthening the senior and Under-23 squads.
“This covers coaching salaries, better allowances, high-quality management, and training exposure,” she said.
The fund is monitored monthly by a joint committee comprising the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
She also underscored that none of the allocation may be used for legal proceedings.
“If FAM wants to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), they must bear the costs themselves,” she added.
Responding to a question from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) on whether the issue could be resolved by identifying and prosecuting those responsible for document forgery, Yeoh pointed to the investigation report’s findings.
Paragraph 141 notes that original birth certificates provided by players to agents or friends were never submitted to Malaysian authorities — an omission consistent with the Home Minister’s earlier statements.