First of all, let us extend my congratulations to you all for obtaining something that almost every professional expatriate looking for in Malaysia: a right to call Malaysia ‘a home’ and enjoy our ridiculously low cost of living (thanks to our dismal currency rate).
Had not it been for your courage to leave and risk everything to come to our country, your dream will still be a dream. You won’t become one of the top 20-percenters in any country. You won’t be an international footballer. You won’t be idolized by kids.
But you lot took a leap of faith. We commend you for it. We know it’s not easy to leave your family behind in pursuit of a dream. It’s something we have been encouraging our local football players to do. You lot have worked hard for it. No one handed it to you. Whatever it is you guys have now, it is totally deserved.
You guys truly have outdone those MM2H applicants. They don’t have the blue-coloured identification card (IC). Heck, not even all Malaysian born-and-bred can have the blue (IC). But you guys have it. The bureaucracy of getting one was even sped up. That shows how our committed we are to making you a Malaysian.
And in return, we ask nothing but your full allegiance to one but only one country: Malaysia.
Now as Malaysia’s naturalised players, you guys must know your priority. We know your club pays your salary. But when Malaysia calls, you MUST answer. Malaysia gave the citizenship to you. Not your club. We don’t want to end up like Indonesia; who is naturalizing players willy-nilly for the club’s sake.
On top of that, there are things you guys should do from the very first minute you are slotting your IC in your wallet. When reading this list, we sure hope you take an effort to do them all. They are all something every patriotic Malaysian should be able to do.
1. Memorize and sing Negaraku
It is our national anthem. It will be nice if we could see your lips moving about whenever Negaraku is played.
2. Memorize and understand Rukun Negara
If the United States of America gets every new citizen to memorize Pledge of Allegiance, we should expect the same from our naturalised players to memorize Rukun Negara. Read, memorize and comprehend what it is all about and what it stands for.
3. Make an effort to learn the national language, Bahasa Melayu
You guys must have been feeling blessed that Malaysians are generally proficient in English. But this should not provide you with any excuses not to learn Bahasa Melayu.
4. Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.
Do not just live in your own bubble. You’re not expats, for heaven sake. Participate in your local community. Give back whenever you can and as much as you can. Our local football grassroots scene, for example, needs a lot of support from you to ensure a better and brighter future.
5. Support and defend the constitution.
It establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy having the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of State.
6. Participate in the democratic process.
This explains the need to perform list #4. By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders support the citizens’ interests.
7. Respect and obey federal and state laws.
While there may be some form of archaic laws like this, it is essential in modern societies to respect all civil and criminal laws in order to keep peace and order.
8. Respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others.
In a multi-culturalism country like Malaysia, respect is paramount to keep order and peace. Sometimes you will not agree with someone. But by seeing their point of view and understanding where they’re coming from, it can not only make you a better person by hearing the other side but at times you can find ways to counter their argument and make them rethink what they just said.
9. Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to authorities.
The taxes pay for almost everything our government does, from supporting poor people financially to buying Mercedes for themselves and most importantly for the future of our football – funding nation-wide grassroots program like NFDP.
10. Defend the country if the need should arise.
Until there comes a time where we need to enlist every able-bodied man to war, you will do so on a football pitch. If soldiers fight for the freedom of people back home, you fight for the pride of every Harimau Malaya supporters.
To read Bahasa Melayu version, you can click the link below:
(CLICK) Kepada Pemain Naturalisasi Malaysia, Ini Benda Yang Anda Kena Buat