By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, July 4: Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has cautioned that growing dependence on foreign players could undermine the long-term development of local football.
He acknowledged that international regulations under FIFA and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) permit national teams to recruit naturalised and heritage players.
Under current rules, athletes with Malaysian parentage or those born in Malaysia—even if they are no longer citizens—are eligible to represent the country.
“If you look at the current Malaysian team, Harimau Malaya, maybe three out of four faces are not Malays or Chinese, but more Caucasians—white people.
“It’s not just happening in Malaysia. You go to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines—it’s the same. Because that eligibility criteria have been significantly widened,” he said during a press conference at Baitulmakmur 2 here today.
Although he accepts the rules under global football frameworks, Abdul Karim made it clear that he favours the development of local-born athletes over naturalised ones.
“Personally, I prefer to see anak jati, the natives, representing Malaysia and Sarawak.
“Many of those currently representing Malaysia are based in Europe or Latin America, and it will be difficult for us to keep the local football sport alive if we continue relying on players from outside,” he added.
When asked if this trend could expand to other sports such as swimming, Abdul Karim said it depends on the direction of each national sports association.
“If they are in the craze of wanting to only win the gold medal, they will open everything. It’s not good either.
“Later, someone who represents the United States might suddenly represent Malaysia. They start marketing themselves that way. It will not be good,” he pointed out.
He stressed the importance of building a healthy sports ecosystem that starts from the grassroots.
“We have to keep on looking at ourselves and build it up from the bottom,” he added. — DayakDaily
