British-born footballer, Lee Andrew Tuck, took to his Instagram on Merdeka Day yesterday (Wednesday, 31st August) to share a piece of news with his followers – He is now a naturalised Malaysian citizen!
In the post, the 34-year-old midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Sri Pahang expressed on how he’s grateful to finally be a naturalised Malaysian after six years. For those in the dark, Tuck has been playing in the Malaysian Super League since 2017. He played for Negeri Sembilan, before moving to Terengganu FC in 2018, and Sri Pahang last season.
“I can finally and officially say I am a Malaysian citizen. I’m truly grateful to obtain Malaysian citizenship. It’s been a tough road with making sacrifices in order to get here but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass on,” Tuck shared. He also thanked the owner as well as the top management of the football club for their support throughout the process. “I also would like to thank my loving family and my close friends,” he added in his post.
That being said, the news of Tuck’s naturalisation was met with mixed responses from the public. Most of them took to social media to call the government out for apparently prioritising foreign players over stateless children. One Twitter user argued, “(The citizenship process was) So easy for him, while children born to Malaysian mothers are denied outright if the father is not Malaysian. Some (even have) been waiting forever.”
Another commentator gave a sarcastic remark in response to the news. She said, “Malaysia is a weird country. People who deserve to get citizenship are literally fighting for their rights. Then there’s this guy who easily obtains the status. 😂”. Read some of the responses left by them below:
What do you think about this?
Sources: Twitter, Harian Metro.
