KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe has declined to comment on past naturalisation controversies, saying Malaysia’s future must also be built around homegrown players.
Fielding a largely domestic-based side without Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) regulars in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly defeat to China, Cheng Hoe reiterated the stance he took when pressed by Chinese media before the match on whether Malaysia would keep relying heavily on naturalised footballers in the next World Cup qualifying cycle following “past twists and turns”.
“I don’t comment on the past issues,” Cheng Hoe said.
“I am just looking forward to the new national team.
“We are looking forward to the players whoever can represent the country. The most important thing, I think, we are also looking forward to the homegrown players that really give us a good impact and future for the Malaysia team.”
Malaysia’s recruitment of naturalised and heritage players has drawn scrutiny over the past year following the 2025 FIFA eligibility scandal, in which seven foreign-born players comprising Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel, received 12-month bans over falsified ancestry documents.
The sanctions led to Malaysia forfeiting 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam, eliminating Harimau Malaya from the tournament and prompting an Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission review into citizenship approvals earlier this year.
Although the seven players’ bans expired on Oct 31, allowing them to return to club football, FA of Malaysia president Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said last month that they remain permanently ineligible to represent Malaysia under FIFA regulations.
Debate over the national team’s reliance on naturalised talent has persisted after JDT trio Bergson da Silva, Manuel Hidalgo and Brad Tapp were cleared by FIFA in September and featured in Malaysia’s third-place finish at the inaugural FIFA Asean Cup in Jakarta last month.
JDT’s Australia-born defender Shane Lowry also received FIFA approval on Thursday to play for Malaysia, even as fans continue urging greater investment in local development ahead of Tan’s makeshift squad’s test against Yemen on Tuesday.