By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 21: The Malaysia Ministry of Home Affairs’ commitment to implementing new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to expedite citizenship applications within one year will significantly alleviate the emotional and bureaucratic burdens on parents of stateless children in Sarawak.
Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, welcomed the initiative, emphasising that this proactive measure brings renewed hope to parents who have long grappled with uncertainty and stress regarding their children’s citizenship status.
“Previously, citizenship applications could take up to five years, leaving these children in limbo for far too long as they continued to grow,” she said.
Fatimah reiterated the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government’s steadfast belief that access to education and healthcare is a fundamental human right that must not be denied to anyone, including stateless children.
“The GPS government fully supports the Madani government’s efforts, through the Home Affairs Ministry, to efficiently address citizenship issues and ensure the rights of the people are protected and upheld,” she said in a statement yesterday (Dec 20).
She expressed optimism that the expedited citizenship process would open doors for stateless children to access education, healthcare, welfare assistance, job opportunities, and eligibility for the “K” indicator on their identification cards, enabling them to benefit from various forms of assistance provided to Sarawakian children.
“This step will also enhance the self-esteem of these children, allowing them to grow into productive individuals capable of contributing to national development,” Fatimah added.
On Dec 17, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that all Malaysian citizenship applications would now be reviewed and resolved within one year.
According to a news report by NST, Saifuddin disclosed that the Ministry had reviewed a total of 32,408 citizenship applications over the past two years, many of which had been pending for over five years.
To expedite the resolution of these issues, the Ministry has introduced a streamlined processing framework aligned with the government’s commitment to safeguarding and upholding individual rights.
Saifuddin assured that the approval process would remain robust and adhere to legal considerations, emphasising the government’s focus on protecting both humanitarian and individual rights. — DayakDaily
