Another 46 successful applicants to receive citizenship letters soon

KUCHING: The second batch 46 successful applicants, all of them under 21, will receive their letters of approval to become Malaysian citizens at a date to be fixed later on.

This brings to 92 applicants out of 246 citizenship applications made under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution, who have successfully obtained their citizenships. They will then be eligible for benefits, privileges and access to numerous benefits in education, healthcare, welfare, economic, employment, and others.

Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah who announced the good news yesterday expressed her joy that they had help put an end the applicants’ lengthy wait.

“The first batch of 46 successful applications have received their letters of approval to become Malaysian citizens on Nov 30 last year. Now, with the second batch of another 46 successful applicants, it is another milestone for the Special Committee on Citizenship Status which was set up in 2016,” she told reporters at her office here yesterday.

Assistant Minister of Community Well Being Datuk Francis Harden Hollis , and officers from the National Registration Department (NRD and State Education Department were also present.

On another matter, Fatimah said the state NRD and Education Dept will collaborate to hold ‘Mobile Registration Operation’ throughout the state from March until October this year through coordination with 31 district education offices to address issues of children without proper documentation.

She said the state Education Department had come up with a Student Database Application, and based on information from the database, a total of 1,297 students in the state in 2016 either did not have identification documents or had problems concerning their citizenship status.

Thereafter, the Education Dept carried out extensive process of verification and as of Dec 31 last year, 705 students were found to be Malaysian citizens, 81 noncitizens, 97 had undetermined status and 414 did not have complete information.

Fatimah also said the mobile registration operation through special taskforce team known as PPK under the state NRD would continue to be held throughout the state this year, with a total of 50 programme having been planned to be implemented from Jan 23 onwards.