KOTA KINABALU: Giving stateless children birth certificates does not mean they are being given citizenship, said Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
(From left) Jainab and Fumiko sharing a light moment with the pupils.
She told members of the media this after launching the children of Japan and Malaysia’s paintings at UTC State Library Branch yesterday, adding that if these children wanted to become citizens, they would still have to go through certain procedures that would take years to have their applications considered for citizenship.
“The first step is for them to apply to become permanent residents. In my husband’s case (who is a British national) he had to apply to become a permanent resident in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Sabah,” Jainab said in explaining the many intricacies involved for a foreigner wanting to apply to become a citizen of this country.
She added that she agreed with the opinion of Eric Paulsen, executive director of Lawyers for Liberty, who said stateless children in Sabah should be issued birth certificates, adding that it was their fundamental right and had nothing to do with citizenship.
“I agree with Paulsen. A birth certificate only certifies the birth (of a child) and does not give it citizenship.
“We are worrying unnecessarily. The issuance of a birth certificate does not mean automatic citizenship,” she said. She said it would be even more problematic if the children were not issued with birth certificates because they would then become stateless children.
“If they cannot go to school (because of their status), they will be the cause of social ills,” she said.
She then urged the relevant authorities comprising of the Indonesian Consulate and the Philippines Consulate to help the state look into the plight of stateless children.
At the same time, she also said the National Registration Department must be careful when putting in the details of these children into their system, particularly on matters that were relevant to the child’s race and their citizenship.
“Don’t simply put ‘Malay’ in the child’s race when the father and mother are of the Bajau race, for instance.
“I think the department has to conduct a course for its staff on these issues,” she said.
She also said even after the stateless children had been issued birth certificates, they would still have to pay the ‘foreigner’ fees when seeking medical assistance at government health facilities or going to school.
Government’s assistance would only be rendered to the citizens of this country, she assured.
Prior to the interview, Jainab in her speech commented on the importance of children’s drawings and how it could be used to gauge problems faced by the children.
She also encouraged teachers to constantly talk to their students/pupils about the latter’s aspirations and ambitions.
As for parents, she said that they needed to learn to listen to their children, and encouraged the parents to show their affections to their children often.
Meanwhile, a total of 149 paintings from Japanese children and 64 paintings from primary school children from Sabah were being showcased as part of the ‘Friendly Relationship Through Pictures’ at UTC State Library Branch, presently.
Also present to grace the event yesterday was the Authorised NPO Corporation May Asaka Centre (Japan) chairperson, Fumiko Oike.