The Home Ministry has maintained that all citizenship applications are considered accordingly and refuted aspersions cast on a recent meeting between its minister Muhyiddin Yassin with several DAP lawmakers.
“The meeting was not to offer citizenship facilities to anyone. Thus, there is no issue of ‘backdoor’ or special treatment in the conferment of citizenship as alleged by some.
“The ministry would like to stress that the Malaysian citizenship is the highest award and an exclusive right of the federal government which will not be offered or awarded arbitrarily,” the ministry said in a statement this evening.
“All citizenship applications will be considered and approvals will only be awarded to those who qualify, irrespective of ethnicity, race or religion,” the ministry added.
Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had yesterday claimed that DAP MPs were employing a “backdoor method” in attempting to solve citizenship issues and questioned why they had resorted to a “closed-door meeting” with the minister rather than discuss their concerns with the cabinet.
He further asked if the MPs had a “hidden agenda” in getting the ministry to expedite citizenship offers for certain people.
Based on a photograph of the meeting, the representatives who met with Muhyiddin on Monday were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng; Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran; Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching; Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh; Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham and Lanang MP Alice Lau.
Dismissing Asyraf’s concerns, Lau told Malaysiakini that the MPs had met the minister to seek a solution to long-standing citizenship woes affecting those of all ethnicities and especially stateless children.
“If it had really been a closed-door meeting and was so secretive, I would not have posted about it on my Facebook page.
“We were actually requesting (the ministry) to set a timeline for each case. I think this will be fair to all. These citizenship applications come from people of all races [...] and I don’t see this as a racial issue,” she said when contacted today.
Lau, who has been campaigning for the rights of stateless children since 2013 and who had formed the Backbenchers’ Citizenship Committee this year, noted that Muhyiddin had revealed that a new and improved standard operating procedure (SOP) for citizenship applications was in the works.
“They told us there will be a new SOP by the ministry that will be fair to all Malaysians [...] for the application process. It will be a clearer process.
“Because in previous years when you applied, you would not get any answer or letter unless you kept asking and asking.
“And if your application was rejected, they won’t give you a reason or (tell you) what documents you did not submit. They would just say “Fail” without any reason given,” she said, citing her past experience in handling citizenship claims. - Mkini
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