Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has been urged to look into the history of the cancer patient whose MyKad was seized by the National Registration Department (NRD) before making any statements about the woman's citizenship status.
Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) member Agnes Padan spoke out against Saifuddin after he said that the NRD found out that the 65-year-old woman, Lina Samuel, is an Indonesian citizen.
“How can he claim that she (Lina) was born in Indonesia?
“Saifuddin (above) should have looked into this (her background) before coming out with a statement that she is Indonesian and not Malaysian,” Agnes told Malaysiakini.
On April 9, Malaysiakini reported that Lina’s MyKad was confiscated by the NRD.
Lina, who resides in Lawas, Sarawak, 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.
Despite Saifuddin’s conclusion, the NRD told Malaysiakini that the investigation was still going on and that it has yet to meet Lina.
‘Still Malaysian citizen’
“Lina was born in 1957 before Malaysia was even formed. At the time, there was no requirement to register births (in Sarawak),” Agnes said.
According to Lina's daughter, the elderly woman cannot recall where she was officially born as her parents passed away when she was a child and she lost her birth certificate when she relocated to Lawas in her teens.
However, her daughter told Malaysiakini that prior to moving, Lina lived in Kampung Long Sui - about 18km away from Lawas - since she was an infant.
Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek concurred, saying that Lina’s situation falls under Part 1 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia 1957’s Second Schedule.
Part 1 stipulates that persons born after Malaysia Day (Sept 16, 1963) are citizens by operation of law. This rule also extends to anyone born within the Federation after Merdeka Day and before October 1962.
“As of right, she is still a Malaysian citizen.
“In any event, where is the proof that she is an Indonesian citizen? The home minister and the NRD cannot simply make claims to strip her of her citizenship,” Zaid told Malaysiakini.
Earlier, Zaid condemned the NRD for confiscating the woman’s MyKad, citing that the government agency has no authority to seize a person’s identification card.
He called the act "unconstitutional" and blasted the home minister for not ensuring that the NRD abided by the law.
Limited access
Meanwhile, Agnes listed several factors that Saifuddin should have considered prior to making a statement on Lina’s citizenship.
She said that many of those from the Lun Bawang community, to which Lina belongs, in Lawas had limited access to education and most of them are farmers.
Additionally, native Borneons who were born before Malaysia Day were predominantly monolingual, according to Agnes.
For context, Lina does not communicate well in Bahasa Malaysia. She speaks in her native Lun Bawang language and often relies on her children or Agnes for translation.
Furthermore, Lawas, by virtue of its geographical location, is cut off from the rest of Sarawak's road network.
“I hope Saifuddin will visit Lawas to understand the actual predicament.
“As long as I can remember, we never had high-ranking officers in the district NRD to help resolve this issue,” Agnes said. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.