Citing dangers to indigenous East M’sians, MCA urges Home Ministry to clarify constitutional amendment on citizenship

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): The home minister must clarify the proposed constitutional amendment on citizenship as many stateless persons are at stake, said Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) deputy secretary general Pamela Yong.

In a statement, Yong said that it will affect “tens of thousands of Malaysian-born individuals could lose a crucial safeguard — their right to a fair legal process to claim citizenship,” citing the Sabah and Sarawak Chapters of CSO Platform for Reform.

“The Sabah and Sarawak Chapters of CSO Platform for Reform have highlighted that the proposed Federal Constitution amendment on citizenship as announced by the home minister will adversely affect the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak who are still stateless or hold MyPR instead of MyKad.

“MCA urges the home ministry, particularly its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to present the proposed amendments and clarify the finer points with the public, stakeholders and CSOs as soon as possible, and not give the impression that the ministry is bulldozing the tabling of amendments against the will of the people of Malaysia,” she said.

The proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution will only displace the natives of East Malaysia and dilute their rights, she asserted.

MCA said it feels troubled that the Anwar administration could even think of a constitutional amendment that would affect the natives of Sabah and Sarawak adversely citing that the Pakatan Harapan coalition that came into power in 2018 and 2022 promised to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 by protecting their rights.

MPs should use their positions properly and voice their opinions to protect the rights of Malaysians, especially the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, she said.

“They should take note that there are people who remain categorised as stateless despite being indigenous persons of East Malaysia all their lives.”

“These MPs need to remember that they were given the mandate by the people to protect the interests of East Malaysians and thus ought to be concerned and act as a check and balance against any government-proposed unfavourable revisions to the Federal Constitution,” she said.

The 2020 population and housing census with 810,000 non-citizens in Sabah inclusive of stateless persons and migrants out of the population of 3.39 million persons and there are 23,154 stateless persons under 21 in Sabah with at least one of their parents a Malaysian citizen, according to the National Registration Department’s records, she said noting that the figure might be higher. – Malay Mail