KUCHING: The issue of stateless citizens in Sarawak will soon be resolved as the Home Affairs Minister will be directly be involved in approving applications, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah assured today.
Fatimah, the Minister of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, said Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s involvement will guarantee quick approval of the applications for citizenship.
She revealed that during her courtesy call on Saifuddin, the ministry had agreed to activate a special committee under Point 15A of the Federal Constitution.
“He (Saifuddin) has agreed to activate the special committee to handle the issue of stateless citizens in Sarawak during the courtesy call on Tuesday (Jan 17).
“For that, we are thankful to the minister, and he will also be co-chairing the special committee meeting as well which will be in Sarawak,” Fatimah told a press conference after chairing the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Wanita Supreme Council meeting at her residence.
She said the matter is important as stateless citizens are aging and some cannot have access to healthcare and education for some time due to lack of required documents.
“There are those who applied since 2014 and are still waiting for approval.
“Moreover, they do not know if their applications got through. This is hard on them because they could not get healthcare, education, and work because they have yet to have valid identifications and documents.
“So, his (Saifuddin) involvement is significant so that the process approving the applications can pass through quickly,” she added.
In addition, Fatimah said that this is good news for Sarawak and to those who applied for their citizenships.
Some 900 applications are still pending for approval of citizenships.
Other than that, Fatimah also agreed that the children commission’s will come under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM).
“I agree with that…in fact, my ministry will work together with the commission because there are children involved in our stateless citizen issue.
“Our objective is to guarantee them that they can get education, healthcare and other needs,” she said.
