MIRI – Sarawak PKR is embarking on a statewide campaign to help enrol stateless children in government schools while they are in the process of securing birth certificates and identity cards.
State PKR deputy chairman Abun Sui Anyit today said the 31 branches of the party in the state have been told to seek out and compile names of stateless children who are still not schooling and register them at the nearest government schools.
“There are many cases of stateless children who are still not schooling and those who had been stopped from schooling due to the fact that they do not have birth certificates and/or identity cards.
“The state government and the Education Ministry have agreed that these stateless kids be allowed to attend schools while their personal documents problems are being sorted out by their parents and the National Registration Department (NRD).
“Those families which have children of school-going ages can seek help from the nearest PKR branches, including in the rural districts,” he told reporters here after a PKR meeting today.
Abun Sui said the party is also on a statewide drive to assist in the registration of stateless adults in rural districts.
Abun Sui is Hulu Rajang PKR branch chairman and also Sarawak Pakatan Harapan information chief.
He had said last month that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had agreed to the establishment of a special committee to register stateless people, and Sarawak PKR have been authorised to coordinate with the NRD and state leaders to help in the registering stateless persons.
Abun Sui lamented that the statelessness problem has been left unresolved for decades in Sarawak.
“Let us all work together to find a solution for the sake of these stateless folks,” he said.
Previous estimates indicated there could be up to 60,000 individuals in Sarawak without personal documents like birth certificates and identity cards.
State PKR chairman Roland Engan recently said the party is also beefing up networking among members in the state’s 31 parliamentary constituencies to realise the Malaysia Madani concept announced by Anwar.
“Sarawak PKR will embark on an aggressive drive to promote the Malaysia Madani concept (launched by Anwar last month).
“We want to see governance that is clean, fair and just to all races and ethnic groups.
“Sarawak PKR has a crucial role in this aspect so that Sarawak can (achieve) equitable progress for all communities,” said Engan, who is deputy chairman of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan. – The Vibes, February 24, 2023
