KUCHING, May 20: Former Bukit Assek assemblywomen Irene Mary Chang Oi Ling is calling on the Sarawak government to explain why it has been withholding the “K” indicators or the Sarawakian status to successful citizenship applicants.
She said over the past few months, she had received several complaints from worried applicants throughout Sarawak about the absence of the “K” indicators on their identity cards.
“I have written to the State Secretary raising this issue in September 2021. To date, I have not received any reply from the State Secretary’s department.
“I have also not received any updates as to whether the State Government is making any efforts in eradicating this problem before it spreads rampantly among our previously-stateless children,” she said in a statement today.
Irene, who is also Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) political education director, said New Straits Times reported on May 15, 2023 that the Home Ministry has approved 1,500 citizenship applications in Sarawak.
Therefore, she held that the Sarawak government should match the Home Ministry’s effort to grant these applicants a home not only in Malaysia, but also in Sarawak, by approving their Sarawakian status through the “K” indicator.
“I am thus urging the Sarawak Government to urgently resolve this issue and to give our newly-registered Malaysian citizens the opportunity to contribute to our State’s workforce and economy,” she said. — DayakDaily
