KUALA LUMPUR: The national team should stop relying on naturalised players as the locals are now showing progress.
This is the view of sports expert Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli, who believes Super League clubs should stop naturalising foreign-born players.
Players like Safawi Rasid, Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim are among the local players who shone in last month's friendly matches against the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Harimau Malaya defeated the Solomon Islands 4-1 and thrashed Papua New Guinea 10-0 in Kuala Terengganu.
"Arif and Faisal were outstanding in those matches. However, we should also credit naturalised players like Paulo Josue and Lee Tuck for their performances.
"We should allow our local players to grow accordingly and play for the national team. Everyone knows there are no short-cuts to success, and we should start developing local players."
Although the FA of Malaysia has stopped naturalising foreign-born players, Super League clubs still actively practice it.
Among the other naturalised players in the country are Mohamadou Sumareh, Guilherme de Paula, Endrick dos Santos, Sergio Aguero and Liridon Krasniqi.