SANDAKAN – Various parties in Sabah have raised objections to the proposed constitutional amendments on citizenship, asserting that they fail to adequately address the stateless issue prevalent in the region.
Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee stressed the necessity for the federal government to devise a comprehensive legal and humanitarian resolution in tackling the dilemma of stateless individuals in Malaysia.
Criticising the Home Ministry’s proposition to amend the federal constitution regarding citizenship, Yong argued that proposed changes such as citizenship by operation of law or registration do not effectively alleviate the plight of stateless children in Sabah.
Instead, Yong underscored the urgency for the government to formulate a robust legal framework coupled with a humanitarian approach – considering the gravity of the situation.
“This is a difficult humanitarian matter. Stateless children are left in a painful limbo due to no fault of their own.
“Without residence or birth certificates to acknowledge their legal existence, they face a lifetime of existing in a vacuum.
“This is a sad humanitarian situation existing in Sabah. I estimate the number of such stateless children at 5,000 to 10,000,” he told Scoop.
Yong, who is also a former Sabah chief minister, said he knew of stateless children in Sabah whose parents (mostly fathers) had abandoned them.
He said some of the parents were captured by law enforcement agencies at their workplace and then deported to their countries of origin, leaving their children behind in Sabah.
There are also cases of parents, such as foreign fathers, who simply disappeared, leaving the mothers and their children behind, he said.
“A proper legal and humanitarian solution as the way forward needs to involve bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia to identify these stateless children and reunite them with their families, and then for their countries to issue them their citizenship documents.
“This process should take no more than three years,” he said.
Yong also proposed that the remaining stateless children in Sabah, who could not be reunited with their parents, be granted a resident permit.
“As for those with a single parent who is a Malaysian citizen, their pathway to citizenship by way of being the offspring of a citizen should be strenuously vetted to filter out fake cases,” he said.
Warisan Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong stressed that the amendment, particularly on five points that would remove existing protection for stateless individuals in the nation, would create even more stateless people in the country – especially in Sabah.
“The proposal does not make sense because it will create a new group of stateless people.
“It is as if the people are living in a country that does not recognise their existence, and the government isolates them from the rest of the Malaysians.
“Logically, if this amendment is imposed, then the stateless people will not only reduce but double and triple in number for generations to come,” he told Scoop.
Chong said the Home Ministry should solve the existing stateless problem first before proposing regressive amendments that would make the situation worse.
“Children born out of wedlock are innocent, and they should not be punished or have their rights restricted.
“Why should abandoned babies and orphans be punished by the government for a situation that they cannot control and is against their will?
“These children know no other place other than Malaysia, yet their home country does not want to recognise them as citizens,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior lawyer and former Sabah Law Society president Datuk Roger Chin called on the public to reject the amendments that would condemn Sabah’s stateless children to a life of perpetual uncertainty.
“Let us demand instead a path to citizenship, a chance for these children to finally truly belong, to contribute, and to shine their light on our beloved Malaysia,” he told Scoop.
He said that under the current law, children born to Malaysian mothers (regardless of the father’s nationality) automatically become citizens. This lifeline prevents generations of statelessness.
However, the proposed change grants the Home Ministry sole power to decide on citizenship, introducing a layer of uncertainty and subjectivity into the process.
“Proponents of the amendment argue it strengthens national security. Yet, pushing children into statelessness does the opposite. It creates a vulnerable underclass susceptible to exploitation and crime.
“They become shadows, unable to contribute meaningfully to society, forever stuck on the sidelines.
“Is this the future we envision for our fellow Malaysians, especially the innocent children of Sabah?
“Instead of building walls, we should be tearing down barriers.
“Instead of adding layers of bureaucracy, we should be crafting solutions that recognise the inherent right of every child to belong.
“The current law, despite its imperfections, offers a beacon of hope for stateless children,” he said, adding that Sabah has a staggering number of stateless people, many of whom have been born in the state for generations.
“Remember, this is not just about legal technicalities, it’s about human lives.
“It’s about choosing compassion over bureaucracy and hope over despair,” he added. – March 16, 2024
