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Proposed citizenship law amendments raise concerns of creating stateless individuals

KUCHING: Proposed modifications to Malaysia’s citizenship legislation by the government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have sparked concerns that they may establish a new class of stateless people that includes children and have been dubbed “cruel” by opponents. For Malaysian mothers married to foreigners, one change would automatically confer citizenship on children born abroad. Critics […]

IC issue: Help local first, not foreigners

Every good citizen adds to the strength of a nation. —– Gordon B Hinckley, US religious leader HOME Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin did not have it easy this past week. As a politician, he is not particularly popular with the public at large and as a minister, he has his share of run-ins with […]

Stateless children admission: Committee to negotiate with CENTEX on permission

KUCHING: The Sarawak Special Committee on Citizenship (SSCOC) under Article 15A will negotiate with the Centre of Technical Excellence (CENTEXS) on allowing the stateless children to study in their institution. Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, who co-chaired the committee, stated that the negotiation is held in […]

Statelessness: Inhumane and waste of human resource

KUCHING: Disallowing stateless children in the state to have MyKad has been described as inhumane. “It is also a waste of valuable human resource,” said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing. What does it mean to be stateless? A stateless person is someone who, under national laws, does not enjoy […]

Resident office takes in stateless girls as interns

KUCHING: The Kapit Resident and District Office has taken in as interns, two stateless girls from Long Singut who achieved 6As in the recent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination. Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, who disclosed this today, said he was trying his best to get them and others […]

Causes of statelessness in Sarawak

KUCHING: Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah today revealed the contributing factors to the number of stateless children in the state. The Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister said one factor was improper marriages with foreign women. “Other reasons are children being born to foreign mothers before proper marriages  as well as improper adoption,” […]

No simple solution to stateless issue

KUCHING: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is of the view that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak’s vow to solve the statelessness issue in Sarawak within a one-year period if it wins the upcoming state election is just a political stunt. The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said there was no simple solution to […]

Help stateless Long Singut residents

KAPIT: The need to address the predicament of 729 stateless residents of Long Singut is of utmost importance, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing. He said that the Malaysian government, particularly the National Registration Department (JPN) should mobilise a team to assist the people soonest. He pointed out that the predicament […]

Association to tackle statelessness

SIBU: Chairman of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) Rajang branch Bill Jugah welcomes those who have problems with getting their MyKads or birth certificates to seek help from the association. Bill has long been tackling the issue of statelessness and this trait was brought to Sadia Rajang when he was elected as the chairman last […]