Lawyers group: MIC shouldn't lead registration of stateless people

Registration of stateless individuals as Malaysians should not be conducted by a political party but must be spearheaded by the National Registration Department (NRD) itself.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said this after MIC president Dr S Subramaniam announced that MIC would lead the Mega Mydaftar campaign, which seeks to register Malaysian-born individuals who are undocumented.

LFL chief executive Eric Paulsen said allowing the MIC to do so would give the impression that one must be beholden to a political party to obtain citizenship.

"While any political party can support the registration process, it should not be made the lead of the campaign, in order to avoid any speculation or impression that Malaysian citizenship is beholden to one’s political affiliation.

"This concern is made all the more acute given the timing of the campaign announcement prior to the impending general election," Paulsen said in a statement.

Further, he said, the issue of statelessness among Malaysian-born individuals is not only confined to the Indian community that the MIC represents.

"Statelessness affects a wide spectrum of communities and individuals with diverse backgrounds – not just people of Indian origin.

"Some of the people most vulnerable to the ill-effects of statelessness include those from indigenous tribes, children whose parents’ have unclear citizenship status (for example refugees and migrants), abandoned children, those from unregistered marriages and even some segments of the Chinese community," he said.

Instead of ad hoc campaigns involving political parties, Paulsen said, the government must put in place a system to expedite the granting of citizenship to legitimate applicants.

"The campaign should be institutionalised and implemented by the NRD and supported by other government agencies, rather than be at the behest and whim of any political party.

"Most importantly, these stateless cases should be registered under the proper procedure for citizens, through a simplified application procedure and documentation requirement, instead of placing an unrealistic burden on them to prove their citizenship," Paulsen said.

Activists assisting Sarawak natives not registered with the NRD, say the process cost is at least RM1,500 as many applicants are required to take DNA tests to prove their relationship links.

This happens if there is no proof of birth in the country, which is often the case for natives who live in the interiors.- Mkini