Priority for Sarawak

Fatimah (front row, centre), Director of Women and Family Department Noriah Ahmad (front row, fifth right) and other Self-Genius Programme officials posing with the participants of the programme. Photo: Ramidi Subari

Putrajaya to speed up citizenship applications for stateless children

KUCHING: The Home Affairs Ministry has agreed to put the citizenship application from Sarawak under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution.

“The application under Article 15A will be put in a basket of its own. This means that the applications from Sarawak will be given priority and will not be mixed up with applications from other states,” said Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.

According to Fatimah, Home Affairs Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told her the decision during a courtesy call on him at his office in Putrajaya on Feb 22.

“During the visit, we (Fatimah’s entourage) requested for the process to be hastened, and be given priority,” she said after attending the Women and Family Development’s Self-Genius programme at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here today.

She explained that stateless children would end up not having the opportunity to go to school and receive welfare benefits without citizenship.

“During the visit, we also requested to Muhyiddin to maintain the special task force handling citizenship issues, which was set up by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in 2015.”

Fatimah heads the special task force for Sarawak, and she said Muyhiddin had agreed to the request.

“This is very good news. The ministry has also agreed to look into applications not applied through the special task force before 2016, which must be given due consideration too.”

She added that under the special task force, it would take up to two years or less for stateless children to obtain their citizenship.

On Monday’s issue raised by Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang regarding five children, who are still waiting for their citizenship, Fatimah said she had brought up the matter with the Home Affairs Ministry.

“I believe this matter will be solved because Muhyiddin is a man of his word.

“And he had said that when it comes to the welfare of Sarawak, politics has nothing to do with it,” said Fatimah.

She added that the special task force would be having another meeting this month to find out the outcome of any application.