Stateless people have heart-to-heart with Muhyiddin

A group of stateless people and their Malaysian parents had a heart-to-heart with Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in a closed-door dialogue in Putrajaya today.

Klang MP Charles Santiago, who was present at the session, said they related the difficulties they faced in having lived in the country all their lives but not being recognised as citizens.

Psychological distress, in particular, is a big concern to the group, who dubbed themselves the Stateless Children Family Support Group (SCFSG).

"Some among us are going through psychological distress because our children have already shown suicidal tendencies," the group said in a memorandum they handed to Muhyiddin.

Elaborating on this, Santiago said the stateless children were stressed over their uncertain future.

They live in fear since they don't have access to (citizenship) papers. They can't get married and they can't get a loan.

"These stateless children are facing a bleak future even though it is not their fault," he said.

One of the stories Santiago related to Malaysiakini from the dialogue was that of a woman who found an abandoned child outside her home 27 years ago.

The child became a daughter to her, but because of her statelessness, she cannot get married, and may consign any children she may have to the same fate.

"Another person who spoke was this five-year-old girl. She knows the Rukun Negara and said 'I want to be Malaysian, but please tell me how to do it'," he said.

The DAP lawmaker said Muhyiddin was sympathetic to their plight, relating that he too had relatives who adopted children and face similar difficulties.

Citizenship for persons not recognised as citizens can be granted through Article 15 and Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, that is through registration or naturalisation.

It can also be granted via Article 15A, which allows the federal government to register anyone under age 21 as a citizen.

Santiago said that Muhyiddin told those at the dialogue that he aimed to resolve the cases being reviewed under Article 15A by year-end.

Meanwhile, SCFSG also made a list of demands for the government, including among others:

• Granting citizenship to children if either parent is Malaysian regardless of marital status or if they were born in or out of Malaysia,
• To confer nationality on children adopted by Malaysian parents,
• To ensure that abandoned and foundling children born in Malaysia are protected with citizenship.