But alas Zahid, charity should start at home
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's concern for stateless Rohingya people should be commended, but he should also show concern over thousands of stateless children born in Malaysia, a DAP lawmaker said.
Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said she was touched by Zahid's impromptu donation drive yesterday for the Rohingya community affected by war and hoped he would similarly show empathy for stateless people born in Malaysia.
"Hundreds of thousands of stateless children are living in Malaysia, but Zahid does not feel compelled to do something for them.
"According to a parliamentary written reply from him, between 2012 and January 2017, 15,394 children born in Malaysia were denied citizenship, even though their fathers are Malaysian citizens," Teo said.
This figure, she said, would mean that, on average, eight people are born stateless in Malaysia every day...
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's concern for stateless Rohingya people should be commended, but he should also show concern over thousands of stateless children born in Malaysia, a DAP lawmaker said.
Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said she was touched by Zahid's impromptu donation drive yesterday for the Rohingya community affected by war and hoped he would similarly show empathy for stateless people born in Malaysia.
"Hundreds of thousands of stateless children are living in Malaysia, but Zahid does not feel compelled to do something for them.
"According to a parliamentary written reply from him, between 2012 and January 2017, 15,394 children born in Malaysia were denied citizenship, even though their fathers are Malaysian citizens," Teo (photo) said.
This figure, she said, would mean that, on average, every day eight people are born stateless in Malaysia.
"In November last year, the home minister (Zahid) revealed that there are 290,437 stateless children in Malaysia who are below the age of 18.
"This number is even greater than the entire population of Perlis," Teo added in a statement today.
While these stateless children in Malaysia do not suffer the same level of violence as the Rohingya community, she said the deputy prime minister should recognise that they suffered a host of other problems.
"They have no access to free education, like other Malaysian children, no free medical service in the government hospital, no passport, no driving licence, and lack access to a decent job.
"These stateless children are not foreigners. Some of them are abandoned at birth, others are adopted but cannot trace the parents they were born to, and more are born to foreign mothers who did not register their marriage to their Malaysian spouses.
"Why are we punishing them due to the mistakes of their parents?" she asked.
Teo said DAP was willing to work with Zahid to help the Rohingya, but the deputy prime minister must first help stateless children in Malaysia.
Read KiniGuide on 'The whos and whys behind the Rohingyas' suffering'
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