Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has condemned the National Registration Department (NRD) for confiscating the MyKad of a 65-year-old cancer patient from Sarawak, calling the act unconstitutional.
LFL director Zaid Malek said that regardless if an investigation was enacted on the case, the NRD has no authority to seize a person’s MyKad.
“The seizure of the individual’s MyKad was without a doubt an unlawful and unconstitutional act by the NRD, for which there can be no justification.
“It is a serious abuse of power as it is an act that deprives victims of their citizenship and their rights attached to it,” Zaid (above) said in a statement today.
On April 9, Malaysiakini reported that the MyKad of an elderly woman, named Lina Samuel from Lawas, Sarawak, was confiscated by the NRD.
Lina explained that the incident occurred after she visited the district NRD office to change the address on her identity card so that she could vote in the 15th general election.
She suffers from colon cancer and without her MyKad, she has been unable to receive treatment for her ailment.
Following this, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the NRD, through its investigation, found out that the woman is an Indonesian citizen.
Despite this, the NRD told Malaysiakini that the investigation was still going on and that they have yet to meet Lina.
The LFL stressed that the action already taken by the NRD did not comply with Articles 26B and 27 of the Federal Constitution.
Article 26B stipulates that no person shall be deprived of their citizenship if doing so would render them stateless.
Article 27 instructs the government to give written notice to the subject of the orders under Articles 24, 25, or 26 - which are articles on citizenship deprivation - informing them of the reasons for the proposed order and their right to have the case referred to a committee.
The committee will hold an inquiry according to the government's directions and submit its report to it. The government will then consider the report when deciding whether or not to make the order.
“The fact that Saifuddin made no reference to such a process means that the government is defending a blatantly unconstitutional act by the NRD.
"The NRD itself has confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing, which logically means that the process under the Constitution has not even begun.
"Yet her (the woman's) MyKad was taken away and her rights are now affected, most worrying of which is her right to get treatment for cancer at government hospitals," Zaid added.
LFL also called on the government to investigate and take action against anyone in the NRD implicated in the decision to confiscate the woman's MyKad.
It also urged the government to return the woman's MyKad to her, stating that it is her right to hold it until and unless an order of deprivation of citizenship is made in compliance with the Constitution.
“The home minister has a duty to ensure that the NRD abides by the law. Yet he has opted to give out a callous remark, justifying an indefensible action on a woman who is literally dying and now made to suffer even more due to the actions of the NRD.
"It is nothing short of cruel and heartless," Zaid lamented. - Mkini
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