KOTA KINABALU – Sabah’s politicians and its people need the political will to agree to a solution to the long-standing issue of stateless people, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today.
Sabah has for decades grappled with a growing population of undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries seeking economic opportunities, and also natives living in far-flung villages unable to register births within the time limit set by the National Registration Department (NRD) due to poor infrastructure and connectivity.
Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said there are many cases of stateless people who have lived in Sabah for up to four generations now, and the lack of a solution will only push the problem down to future generations.
“We are aware that it is difficult to find a solution to the issue of statelessness in Sabah. The government has not been able to solve the problem,” Jerald said at a news conference here.
“(But) we can’t have a government passing the issue to another government given the unpredictable political situation in the country at present.”
Jerald said Sabah has the highest number of complaints on issues of citizenship, accounting for a quarter of about 4,000 total cases received nationwide.
He said the commission is aware of the political backlash to the proposal to issue identity cards to undocumented migrants in the state, but stressed that a solution can only be found if political parties across the divide come together and agree to the way forward instead of simply creating committees to discuss the matter.
Jerald also urged the NRD to allow for an extended deadline to register births for parents living in areas where there is little or no access to hospitals to register their children. – The Vibes, April 19, 2022
