Heed calls by civil society groups on proposed amendments to citizenship, says Sabah Wanita MCA

PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry should heed calls by concerned citizens, civil society organisations (CSOs) and legislators on the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution on citizenship, says MCA.

The party said MPs from Sabah and Sarawak need to prioritise the welfare of native persons when voting on the said proposed amendments.

Sabah Wanita MCA chief and deputy MCA secretary-general Datuk Dr Pamela Wong urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to present the proposed amendments and clarify the finer points with the public, stakeholders and civil societies as soon as possible.

She said the ministry should not give the impression that it is bulldozing the tabling of the amendments.

"At this point, we understand that the proposed amendments were presented to civil societies during a ministry engagement and no further discussion or deliberation has taken place to address the concerns raised," said Wong in a statement Saturday (Nov 25).

"The Sabah and Sarawak Chapters of CSO Platform for Reform have highlighted that the proposed 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.

Wong said there is a fear that tens of thousands of Malaysia-born individuals could lose a crucial safeguard, which is their right to a fair legal process to claim citizenship.

"As such, Wanita MCA would like to call on Federal lawmakers on both sides of the divide to use their sacred ballot and to vote wisely, provide inputs to safeguard the interest of Malaysians, especially the natives of both Sabah and Sarawak.”

Wong said they should take note that there are people who remain categorised as stateless despite being indigenous persons of the Bornean states all their lives.

"We expect MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to voice out, rather than practise elegant silence as these legislative changes will impede the welfare of stateless people in Sabah and Sarawak further.

"These MPs need to remember that they were given the mandate by the rakyat 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.

The 2020 Population and Housing Census reveals that Sabah has a population of 3,398,948, including an estimated more than 810,000 non-citizens.

"The Home Ministry also reported in 2017 that Sabah had the largest number of stateless children or young adults with the National Registration Department revealing there are 23,154 individuals under the age of 21 in Sabah who are stateless with at least one of their parents a Malaysian citizen," added Wong.