Sarawak Asking For Citizenship Committee Revival To Curb Statelessness

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Sarawak is proposing the revival of the Special Committee on Citizenship to the Home Ministry in an effort to resolve the issue of stateless or undocumented children.

What you need to know: The Sarawak Special Committee on Citizenship was terminated 2 July 2019. Then-Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dissolved the committee stating that the Home Ministry will take over the issue of statelessness at the federal level. Sarawak Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family, and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah notes that the committee can assist in work such as screening documents to lighten the Home Ministry’s and National Registration Department’s workload in processing the applications.

Why it matters: Sarawak is the only state to have this committee as the state has a large number of people who do not have legal documents, especially the indigenous community who live in rural areas and do not have access to transportation. Many communities isolated from urban areas do not even know the proper procedures required to obtain their ICs and citizenship. Even children born to Malaysian mothers have to continuously battle the system for years to obtain citizenship, limiting their opportunities in the country.

Read more:
Sarawak wants special committee on citizenship be revived [Malay Mail]
Serious Statelessness In Sarawak: NGOs want taskforce to be extended [Borneo Today]
Muhyiddin: Special task force to solve citizenship issues, special committee no longer needed [Borneo Post]
If You’re A Woman, Malaysian Citizenship Laws Are Not On Your Side [TRP]

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