SIBU: The Home Ministry needs to clarify the one-year window for application of citizenship, points out Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang wants.
She regarded the ministry’s recent announcement of a one-year-window for stateless individuals to register for their citizenship applications with proper documentation as ‘exciting’, but it somehow gave an impression that there was a time restriction for such process.
“This is not correct as there is only a restriction in time when the applications are made with respect of children under 21 years old, under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution.
“So, to say that a window of one year is given implies that the one year is given as an opportunity for the registration to be made before the opportunity is taken away,” she said in a media statement yesterday.
Chang said the Home Ministry’s statement could also mean that it would not process any application made outside this one-year window.
She stressed that if, however, the Home Minister by the statement had intended that all applications made within this one year would be approved provided as long as they came with all the proper documentations, then he should clarify this as well.
The assemblywoman also wanted to know if the applicants had to re-apply just to comply with this one-year-window requirement.
“In the event that the Home Minister should intend that all applications made within this one-year window should receive a nod of approval from him, then he should address and include in his action plan the ways to resolve the issues face by the following classes of individuals who
have difficulties in producing personal documentations and who would therefore, find it difficult – if not impossible – to apply within the one-year window.”
According to Chang, these ‘classes of individuals’ include abandoned children who are still waiting for the completion of investigation by the national Registration Department (JPN) before the issuance of their birth certificates.
In this respect, she said there was generally no timeline for when these investigations would reach completion.
“And even after the investigations have been completed and the birth certificates have been issued, these children would still
need to complete the adoption process before their adoptive parents could apply citizenship for them.
“The whole process may take up to more than one year, and this class of stateless individuals would, therefore and most probably, be prevented from applying for citizenship within the one-year window.”
Adding on, Chang said there were countless families living in rural Sarawak who had generations of family members who had never applied for birth certificates and thus, they held no citizenship.
For the younger family members to apply for citizenship, they would have to prove that the older generation held the evidence entitling them to citizenship.
“In almost all cases, this is an impossible task as the older generation of these stateless families, well as the community leaders who might have witnessed their births, are no longer alive.
“Hence, the present younger members of these stateless families would find it impossible to produce any evidence in the form of documents, to provide their crucial link with the country.
“A practical and workable action plan on how to overcome this problem (lack of documentation) should therefore be addressed and resolved for this class of individuals,” added Chang.
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