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KOTA KINABALU: Tabias Yarun, an ethnic native from Sabah's interior Tenom district, has been applying for Malaysian citizenship for over a decade but has had little success.
Tabias, who holds a Malaysian "permanent resident" red identity card, has made a third attempt to obtain Malaysian citizenship.
The 52-year-old Tabias like many native Lundayehs in Tenom hold red identity cards though they are considered natives of Sabah but their Malaysian citizenship applications have been rejected on many attempts.
Lundayeh, considered a sub-ethnic under the Murut ethnic group, spread across southern Sabah, northern Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan in the central Borneo region.
Tabias said no reason was given for the rejection of his two earlier applications for citizenship. He is currently waiting for a response from the National Registration Department (NRD) on his third application.
He said many of the Lundayeh natives were still holding red ICs in Tenom.
However, he said that it was his right to get Malaysian citizenship as the current laws provided for it.
"I want citizenship for the right for me to own land, get proper health care from government hospitals as well as the right to vote,” said Tabias, who hails from Kampung Sugiang Baru in Tenom about 200km from here.
Tabias’ citizenship application is being monitored by non-governmental organisation Advocates for Non-discrimination and Access to Knowledge (Anak) led by Anne Baltazar.
"Tabias has every right to citizenship. Even in his red identity card there is no mention of country of origin," said Baltazar, who said that both his parents were also holders of red identity cards.
Baltazar said that under the law, Tabias should be given a blue IC because both his parents were permanent residents.
Baltazar is concerned that under the eight proposed Constitutional amendments on citizenship rights, many Sabah indigenous people like Tabias would lose their right to citizenship as one of the amendments is to stop granting citizenship for children of red IC holders to apply for citizenship.
"Tabias and many like him will be affected. The current law provides for granting children of Red IC holders citizenship," she said, adding that if any amendments were made people like Tabias would need to apply for citizenship like any foreigner.
Baltazar said that two of the eight amendments to give automatic citizenship rights for children of Malaysian women married to foreign spouses was good as it grants Malaysian mothers and women equal rights as Malaysian fathers.
She said Anak was concerned with other amendments that could remove existing protections for "stateless" people to apply for citizenship within the Federal Constitution.
"In Sabah particularly, it could worsen stateless problems," she said, adding that they hoped that the Home Ministry deferred the amendments pending proper study as such amendments to aggravate stateless issues and solutions in the state.
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