Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has proposed making the mastery of Bahasa Melayu a prerequisite to getting citizenship.
He was responding to a recent case where an immigration officer refused to renew a local woman’s passport in Penang, as she could not speak the national language.
“Umno Youth would like to propose that either the government or the opposition file a parliamentary motion to amend the law, to make it a must for one to be able to converse in Bahasa Melayu in order to be considered a citizen.
“If Bangladeshis who come to Malaysia can speak Bahasa Melayu, how can one call themselves citizens but not speak the language?” Akmal (above) asked in a video uploaded on his Facebook today.
“Umno Youth will use channels available to ensure this motion is presented and made into a law in this country,” he added.
Yesterday, immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh said the department’s officers are not allowed to reject passport renewals or first-time applications solely because the applicant failed to master the national language.
“I would like to clarify that in fulfilling their responsibilities, immigration officers will conduct random checks in various aspects to verify applications.
“However, these checks must be conducted professionally and with courtesy,” he said in a statement.
‘Officer should be praised’
On Monday, a man took to social media to express his disappointment in failing to renew his mother’s passport at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Komtar, Penang, because she could not speak Malay.
In a viral Facebook post, the man claimed they went to the UTC on Sunday to renew his parents’ passports. While the renewal process for the man’s father went smoothly, he faced an issue with renewing his mother’s passport after staff told him she could not speak Bahasa Melayu despite being a citizen.
According to Ruslin, the woman eventually managed to renew her passport, which she retrieved from the Penang UTC office on the same day.
Akmal praised the “bold” action of the immigration officer involved.
He said the officer’s action should be praised as it was aimed at ensuring an applicant is a legitimate citizen amid the influx of foreigners into the country.
Foreigners applying to be naturalised Malaysian citizens are required to pass a Bahasa Melayu language proficiency test but no such requirement is imposed on those who are eligible for citizenship by birth. -Mkini
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