Statelessness programme to help M'sian families: Johor rep

A programme on statelessness scheduled to be held on June 30 in Johor was meant to help Malaysians and their families, said the organiser.

Stulang assemblyperson Andrew Chen said it was not aimed at helping foreigners gain citizenship as some had assumed.

“It was to inform, raise awareness and understanding to Malaysians who have family members who are stateless,” he said in a statement today.

He said the programme would have made it clearer for participants how to deal with the National Registration Department (NRD), Home Ministry, and Immigration Department, among others.

Chen (above) said as an assemblyperson, his service centre often deals with constituents dealing with statelessness problems due to numerous factors.

This includes Malaysians who had unregistered marriages with foreigners, who are later unable to register their children as citizens due to a breakdown in the marriage or a lack of documentation.

He added there were also cases where citizenship applications were stuck in red tape due to various reasons.

The DAP assemblyperson was supposed to host the programme on June 30, but this was postponed after backlash.

Programme title causes backlash

It is believed the controversy erupted over the initial title of the programme, which read: “Program Permohonan Kewarganegaraan (Citizenship application programme).”

However, on Chen’s Facebook, the title appeared to have been changed to “Taklimat dan Penerangan Kewarganegaraan (Briefing and explanation on citizenship)”.

Among the critics was Johor Umno Youth chief Noor Azleen Ambrose, who warned Chen against “doing something funny”, and said that such programmes should be left to the NRD.

Meanwhile, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari accused DAP of trying to facilitate the acquisition of citizenship by foreigners, which he said was akin to “burning the country".

In his statement, Chen hoped that his clarification would put the matter to rest.

Don't turn statelessness event into racial issue, says DAP man

'Don't try to be funny': Umno Youth warns DAP rep over statelessness event

DAP rep's statelessness programme delayed after backlash

Govt urged to form special task force for Bajau Laut

Babies to non-M'sian parents discharged prematurely, activist says

‘We tabled citizenship bill to give M’sian mothers equal rights’

Govt must form independent body to vet citizenship bill – lawyer