Home ministry sets up task force to deal with statelessness in Sarawak

 

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail with children who received their citizenship papers in Kuching today. On his right is Sarawak women, childhood and community well-being development minister Fatimah Abdullah. (Bernama pic)

KUCHING: The home ministry has established a special task force with the Sarawak government to jointly resolve issues relating to the undocumented population in the state.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the task force had two committees.

The main committee, which is co-chaired by Saifuddin and Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg, will determine policies to resolve the issue.

“The other is the technical committee, which is jointly chaired by the national registration department director-general and the state secretary.

“The technical committee will decide on the mechanism and method to resolve the issue,” Saifuddin told reporters after handing over citizenship papers to 62 children aged below 12 here today.

He said based on statistics from the Sarawak premier’s department, 9,314 people in the state had no identification documents.

“The Sarawak government has a database that makes it easier for the home ministry to identify the status of the individuals concerned.”

Saifuddin said the database would also be useful for the special task force to meet those involved. - FMT