Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Harapan-Muar) said today he will continue to raise issues surrounding statelessness in the Dewan Rakyat as part of efforts to push for more policy changes.
At a press conference in Parliament, Syed Saddiq, together with rights group Lawyers for Liberty, highlighted the case of four siblings who are stateless, despite being born in Malaysia to a Malaysian father.
"This (case) was just brought to my attention. I gave my budget speech last week.
"However, I will look for opportunities - whether through interventions of different MPs or during the wrapping-up speech - to raise the issue," he told reporters.
The four siblings - Aziq Fadyan, 24, Azreen Batrisya, 22, Azzahra Batrisya, 12, and Azalea Batrisya, nine - were also present in Parliament today, together with LFL director Zaid Malek.
It was previously reported that the four siblings were denied citizenship, even though their parents were married before they were born.
Their father, Fadil Saharudin, who recently died, was a Malaysian and their mother is an Indonesian citizen.
They solemnised their marriage in Indonesia and Malaysia in 1998 before the children were born.
Syed Saddiq pointed out that tackling issues of statelessness requires further policy changes.
As such, the Muda president welcomed Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail's latest announcement that the citizenship application processing period has been reduced from 73 days to 14 days through the integrated security vetting system launched by the National Registration Department (NRD).
"This is not just about the four of them. The fact of the matter is, I think I have drafted more than 20 letters, especially for my constituents in Muar," said Syed Saddiq.
"This cuts across issues of race, religion and age.
"While in reality we are loosening up citizenship for many sectors, I think this is one where we should clean up our own house first," he said.
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