NRD refutes claims that 54k from China seeking citizenship

 

The National Registration Department (NRD) has refuted claims that there are 54,000 pending citizenship applications involving people from China.

In a statement today, NRD said the claim was based on a press conference by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail that was manipulated.

"The 54,000 figure referred to applications between 2017 and 2022 which involved applicants from all backgrounds and countries.

"Based on NRD’s records, only 45 Chinese nationals were given Malaysian citizenship," it said.

This was in reaction to the widely spread video clip which claimed that 54,000 Chinese nationals have pending citizenship applications and that they will eventually become "DAP voters".

The video clip was based on a press conference delivered by Saifuddin on Jan 8.

The NRD said that during the press conference, Saifuddin had pledged that NRD will evaluate 10,000 citizenship applications this year.

"This commitment was necessary because applications need to be evaluated within an appropriate time frame in order to be just to those who have long waited for an answer.

"If an application is rejected (early), the applicants will be able to find alternatives for them to live in this country or another," said the NRD. - Mkini