Penang has appointed five officers to provide assistance to those who have yet to obtain their citizenship despite being born in Malaysia or having lived in the country for more than 10 years.

“It is clear that those who are  legally qualified because they have lived in Malaysia (for more than 10 years) face unjust discrimination compared with thousands of illegal immigrants who were given citizenships by the BN,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

The officers are Chiam Heng Aik (Timor Laut); Abdul Rahim Mohamed Nor (Barat Daya);  Ketenasamy @ Krishnasamy (Seberang Perai Utara); Subramaniam Arumugam (Seberang Perai Tengah) and Gunalan Rengasamy (Seberang Perai Selatan).

Lim said the Stateless Persons Initiative by the state government is different from Sabah’s Project IC, where the royal commission of inquiry has revealed that there are illegal immigrants who were given citizenship rights in two years.

This happened despite Article 19 of the federal constitution stating that they must be residents of the country for at least 10 years, he added.

Lim said the new initiative includes collecting information and statistics related to those in Penang who are yet to obtain their citizenship, including birth certificates, identity cards or permanent residentship.

“Other than collecting information, the officers will assist affected residents to submit a complete application for the various certificates according to the procedures of the National Registration Department (NRD),” he added.

The first meeting , chaired by Lim, was held on Nov 3 last year, and the officers’ appointments are effective Feb 1.

Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, who oversees the initiative, said the officers were retirees who have been given a one-year contract to complete their tasks.

“Statelessness is a very serious problem. These people have lived so long in the country, some were born here, and they have yet to receive any identification documents,” Ramasamy said.

No statistics for statelessness in Penang

However, he declined to provide statistics for the number of stateless persons in Penang, saying, “I dare not give a number yet, let the officers do their work.”

He said the officers would also assist those who were not from Penang, who approached them.

“It’s a long process. Collecting information on the issue is an arduous process. It will be done in stages,” he said.

“There are many such problems where people shy away from appying for these certificates because when they go to the NRD, they are told that their application is not in order.

“The unfriendly atmosphere in the NRD, and the fact these people lack the time to return as they are working, makes them frustrated and they do not go back to apply for their citizenships, birth certifcates or indentity cards,” Ramasamy added.