I felt sorry for the Vice President of FAM, S.
Sivasundaram, during the recent press conference. He was grilled mercilessly on
the issue of the seven heritage players. It was painful to watch. He had to do
the impossible—defend something that was beyond his power, to cover for
decisions made long before his turn at the microphone. In that moment, I did
not see a villain. I saw a man trapped—caught in a web spun by others, forced
to explain the unexplainable.
The whole scene reminded me of the 1984 movie Gremlins. It begins with a father who buys a
small, cute creature called a Mogwai. The
shopkeeper gives three simple rules: do not expose it to bright light, do not
let it come into contact with water, and never feed it after midnight. But when
these rules are broken, the Mogwai multiplies uncontrollably and turns into
mischievous, destructive monsters called Gremlins. What was once adorable
becomes chaos.
FAM’s story feels very similar. At first, the
plan to naturalise and include heritage players seemed promising—an innocent
Mogwai, a step toward improving the national team. But somewhere along the way,
the second and third rules were broken. The “water” of convenience was spilled,
allowing falsehoods to multiply. Then came the “feeding after
midnight”—attempts to cover, deny, or deflect responsibility. The Mogwai turned
into Gremlins.
A lie, after all, cannot stand alone. It
breeds more lies to protect itself. Each new deceit exists to fill the gaps of
the last one. What began as a single falsehood becomes a web of confusion,
half-truths, and misplaced blame. I am reminded of the Buddhist saying: “A liar is like a thief of trust.” In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira’s one small lie
unleashed a war that destroyed families and kingdoms. In the Bible, we are
told, “Do not lie to one another.” And
the Qur’an warns, “So woe to those who lie”
(51:10). Across faiths, the message is the same: deceit multiplies until it
devours the liar and all around him.
During that press conference, I sensed that
those answering were not entirely free. They were trying to defend something
that had already gone too far. Each vague response and evasive answer was
another Mogwai spawning in the dark—another attempt to control what had already
become uncontrollable.
It is time to stop feeding the Gremlins. FAM
must face the first lie honestly. Admit the mistake, take full responsibility,
and start again from truth. Malaysians can forgive mistakes, but not cover-ups.
The longer we wait, the more these little monsters will multiply—gnawing away
at trust, reputation, and the integrity of Malaysian football.
A single lie is lonely. It will breed many.
But when we finally face it, the breeding stops. It is not too late for FAM to
turn on the light, confront the monsters, and begin rebuilding with honesty and
humility. Only then can our football- our shared pride, become something truly
worth cheering for again.
I
hope this episode in his life will not spoil his family and his Deepavali
celebration. And may the spirit of Deepavali help not just S. Sivasundaram, but
FAM too, to rise above the need to continue a lie—and achieve the spiritual
victory of Dharma over Adharma, light over darkness, good over
evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
Peace.
Anas Zubedy
Kuala Lumpur
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