PH govt must move away from previous BN policies that perpetuated statelessness

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers for Liberty is concerned over the discriminatory policies of the National Registration Department (NRD) against stateless Malaysians, a practice that was prevalent under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN)-ruled government.
Its executive director, Eric Paulsen, said in a statement here today, that although it was still early days, the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government did not seem to acknowledge the serious problem of statelessness affecting Malaysians from all walks of life, choosing to focus only on such problems affecting the Indian community, as stated in Promise 1 of the Special Commitment for the Indian Community.
Noting that such problem occurred nationwide and affected more than one ethnic group, he said it was imperative that efforts to correct this grave injustice be extended to all stateless persons, not just those of Indian descent.
He also urged the Home Ministry to do away with the discrimination and burdensome policies of the previous BN administration, and take steps to review all cases of statelessness at the NRD and grant them appropriate citizenship documents.
"Many stateless persons, especially those of Indian descent have been treated as a political gimmick, with the MIC driving citizenship registration programmes whenever the (general) election season draws near.
"In the past, the hopes of many stateless Indians largely relied upon the odds that they would be one of the lucky few to be graced by former prime minister (Datuk Seri) Najib (Tun) Razak and MIC politicians who are keen to show they are the ones responsible for resolving their statelessness," noted Paulsen.
He urged the PH government and its component parties not to repeat such gimmicks but instead, strive to reform the NRD policies and approach in resolving statelessness for all. — Bernama