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| The price of being 'stateless' Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:22 AM PST I concur with Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein that the opposition (and let me add, Suaram too) were fabricating lies about the 300,000 stateless 'Malaysian Indians', and that they must produce tangible evidence to their claim. In Putrajaya on Wednesday, about 400 'Malaysian Indians' and members of the opposition, led by PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng marched to the National Registration Department, confronted the police and the department's director-general Jariah Mohd Said. Well. Hisham was right although KDN officers were caught off-guard during the demonstration. However, no untoward incident took place, the police personnel carried out their duty as prescribed. While I agree with Hisham, I can't agree with the messy job of the NRD - which comes under his jurisdiction - in dealing with these stateless people. In casting doubt over the 300,000 stateless Indian (there is no logic in it), I personally regret that we don't have a specific guideline in issuing out PR and granting citizenship to foreigners. This guy may have made a lot of noise about the stateless Indians but many Indian nationals were brought in to the country over the past 10 years as workers. By right, they must return to their country once their working permit expires but many of them chose to stay, just like the few millions Bangladeshis and Indonesians who now 'conquered' some areas in the country. Yes, it is not our policy to grant them with PR status as they came here to work, and that is very, very clear! My only concern is the plight of 'genuine' stateless Malaysians, people who were born in Malaysia, whose parents and siblings are Malaysian. The only problem is that, they don't have Mykad as their birth was not registered. I have been throughout their country, including Sabah and Sarawak, conducting a study on the stateless people. As most of them are in Sabah, the government made the right move to settle their problem with the appointment of the RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry). But I personally believe RCI should cover the whole nation, and the 6 months duration given by PM Najib for the Commission to complete its finding is not sufficient (sorry to say). The NRD must streamline the provisions and guidelines in processing applications for PR and citizenship, and have separate sections for application by foreigners and 'stateless Malaysians'. In most cases, they went through the same procedure, hence neglecting the urgency for the stateless Malaysians to have their application approved in a short time. I have a case.  His only problem is, nobody would employ him for not having any identification. He had to undergo multiple hardship in having his Mykad application approved. The 'penghulu', the State Assemblyman and the rest of his family members had gone to the NRD office to proof that he is a 'valid' Malaysian but they refused him. He has done it for more than 10 years now, and sometimes in March this year, the police nabbed him together with some illegal immigrants and handed him over to the Immigration Dept officers. They locked him up for 6 months at the Immigration Detention Depot in Pekan Nanas, Johor. After being told of his plight, I went to see some Immigration officers and an MP to secure his release, 3 days before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. My mind was only focused on his little kids in Kedah. This will not be the end to his sad episode. As the NRD officers in Putrajaya refused to take up his case, Rosli does not feel secured. At anytime, the black episode of being kept in Pekan Nanas among the 'true' illegal immigrants, would happen again. So much of our 'Rakyat Didahulukan' slogan! Where is our responsibility in dealing with cases like this? While we show generosity in offering Malaysian PR and citizenship to the Bosnians, Iraqis and other nationals, we can't even attend to our own nationals who deserve to have a Malaysian identity, the rights as Malaysians? If we have about 500,000 of them - the genuine stateless Malaysians - we are already losing about 500,000 votes! As the Malay saying goes, 'kera di hutan disusukan, anak di riba mati kelaparan'! Maybe some of the blame should also go to them and their parents for not registering their birth but there are still people with less knowledge about the importance of having IDs, while some remote areas in our hinterland are still having logistic problems, with no proper roads and far from establishments. There are many people like Rosli around, not only in Sabah and Sarawak but also in the Peninsula. We have to shoulder the sin for not helping them and forcing some of them to commit minor crimes like stealing in order to feed their family. I don't know what else to say but I hope the Home Ministry, through the NRD could formulate a better approach in dealing with the problems. They are not foreigners... repeat... not foreigners. If we can offer non-Malaysians our PR status, for instance a Singaporean actor whom we adore much without him having to apply (I am not sure if he is keen to have it), why not we look into this matter with a more open heart and clear conscience!   |
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