NGO calls for panel to tackle stateless woes

Proham suggests that an independent board be set up before the general election.

PETALING JAYA: A human rights organisation has urged the government to establish an independent panel to help stateless people acquire proper documentation.

“This must be a priority,” said the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) in a media statement today. It suggested that the panel be set up before the 13th general election.

The statement also said the panel must include representatives of federal agencies and civil society organisations that are working on documentation concerns and must “review all current laws, procedures and forms used to ensure all these are consistent with the Federal Constitution and human rights.”

It suggested that the panel review the role of the National Registration Department (NRD) “to ensure it reflects the PM’s 1Malaysia and People First agenda.”

“The issue of documentation is not an ethnic issue which is peculiar to one community, but a national concern requiring urgent attention by the federal government,” the statement said.

“Proham recognises that a single common denominator among the undocumented people is poverty and being in a situation of being disadvantaged and ignorant of public policies and requirements, including their difficulties to access public sector services.”

The statement came after a roundtable meeting on the issue of statelessness. Other organisations represented at the meeting were Suhakam, UNHCR, UNICEF, World Vision, Jewel, Malaysian Indian Business Association (MIBA) and Voice of Children (VOC).

Proham also urged the government to give its attention to human rights violations against undocumented and stateless persons.

It said many of these people, in attempting to acquire documentation, had been cheated by middlemen, some of whom were community leaders.

It asked the government to determine the extent of the problem, noting that there was confusion with regard to numbers because political parties were trying to outdo each other in highlighting the issue.

“The figures being highlighted range from about 9,000 to as high as 300,000,” it said.

It called on the government to muster the political will to resolve the problem, but praised it for the My Daftar campaign, noting that it had resulted in 6,590 successful applications for identification documents from Malaysian Indians.

Second campaign

“Proham recommends that a second My Daftar campaign be launched in early 2013 in order to address the needs and concerns of many others who were not able to participate in the first campaign,” it said.

“The setting up of mobile units and a more pro-active approach is also recommended in partnership and cooperation with civil society and community and religious groups.”

It said 4,856 of the 14,385 Malaysian Indians registered under My Daftar were unable to apply for citizenship documents because they lacked supporting documents and another 2,939 had their applications rejected.

It said one issue in dealing with stateless people was the red tape involved.

“Some participants indicated that many demands were unreasonable and inconsistent with the Federal Constitution, amounting to a denial of fundamental human rights,” it said.

“Proham calls for an in-depth legal review of all the forms, procedures and requirements to ensure that they are consistent with the spirit and direction of the Federal Constitution and human rights standards.

“In addition, the mono ethnic representation of the NRD and KDN (Home Ministry) as a whole is not reflective of the PM’s 1Malaysia commitments.

“In this context, Proham recommends a more people-friendly approach to assist the applicants as well as ensuring a fair ethnic, cultural and linguistic mix among the NRD officers to be better reflective of Malaysian society.”

Proham also noted that while Malaysia was a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Malaysian government had imposed a reservation to Article 7, which ensures the right to every child below 18 to a name, nationality and not being categorised as stateless.