A 12-year-old's suicide attempt her following failure to obtain MyKad points to the government's failure in addressing statelessness among Indian Malaysians, Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy said today.

Waythamoorthy, who is also a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said this was despite the “holistic solution” to the problem which PHM had presented to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

NONE “The failure of a comprehensive solution leads to such instances as what we observe now, with the attempted suicide by this child due to the unreasonable manner the National Registration Department officers racially profile the Indian Malaysian community,” he said.

As such, Waythamoorthy added in a statement, the government must urgently implement the proposed solution to avoid a repeat of such incidents.

Doing so will also show the government's willingness to solve the issue of statelessness, which he estimates involves about 300,000 Indian Malaysians, in a serious manner.

NRD: Birth cert is enough

Waythamoorthy said the NRD's “callous” attitude, which allegedly drove the girl to attempt suicide, makes it seem like the government is “purely racist”.

The girl is now in intensive care at Ipoh Hospital after drinking bleach in an attempt to kill herself.

She had earlier been instructed to conduct a DNA test to prove that she is related to her mother, as she has fairer skin compared with her mother.

However, Free Malaysia Today quoted NRD public relations officer Jainisah Mohd Noor as saying that the department is ready to give the girl her MyKad as long as the necessary documents are produced.

This was despite Buntong assemblyperson A Sivasubramaniam attesting to witnessing an NRD officer instructing the girl to undergo the test.

Jainisah reportedly said that NRD does not need her to undergo the test as the birth cerficiate is enough to prove her parentage.