Comprehensive solution to stateless issue coming soon, says minister

Minister P Waytha Moorthy says the government is aware of public concern, especially since PH had promised to solve the issue of stateless people.

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waytha Moorthy said today the Pakatan Harapan government is working towards a comprehensive solution to the issue of stateless children and undocumented Malaysians.

He also said that existing provisions of the Federal Constitution had been narrowly interpreted by civil servants, making it difficult for citizenship applicants.

“There is a lack of empathy and willingness to use their discretionary powers within the ambit of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement.

However, he added, the government was aware of public concern, especially since PH had promised to solve the issue of stateless people.

“We are currently in the final stages of consultation with various stakeholders and will be submitting papers to the Cabinet for its final approval to solve this issue.”

He said the government was also aware that stateless people were “in a vulnerable position and at serious risk of suffering abuse, neglect and violence perpetuated by limited access to education and healthcare, increased social and financial marginalisation, exploitation and vagrancy. Many being unable to obtain employment have fallen into a life of crime”.

Yesterday, Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman came under attack by PH MPs at the Dewan Rakyat for being unable to resolve the issue and blaming the parents of stateless children for the mess.

Klang MP Charles Santiago, for instance, told Azis that stateless children faced an array of issues including mental health issues as they were teased and jeered at in school, that is, if they could even make it to school.

Waytha said today there were various reasons as to why individuals, “a sizeable number of whom are Malaysian Indians”, had become stateless and undocumented.

These include their parents’ citizenship status, lack of supporting documents (dating back to pre-Merdeka years), poverty, abandoned children, unregistered marriages due to one of the spouse being stateless, and ignorance, among others.

He said the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra), an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department, had, based on case studies, identified ten different categories of stateless persons and challenges they face in seeking citizenship within the ambit of current laws.

“Mitra is currently working with related government agencies to outline a comprehensive solution to the stateless issue, in line with the PH government’s manifesto promise,” he said. - FMT