Solving issue of ‘stateless’ children a priority

KUCHING: The Sarawak government and Putrajaya remain committed to eliminating citizenship problems affecting children in the state.

Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said both she and Home Affairs Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were more committed than ever to resolving the issue.

“During my courtesy call to him, Muhyiddin said to carry on and reactivate the special taskforce (on citizenship) which had been previously set up in August 2016 by former deputy premier Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“He (Muhyiddin) said ‘what is good for Sarawak is good for the country’.

Therefore, I requested that under this special taskforce, applications of identification documents for stateless and undocumented children from Sarawak be given priority,” she said.

Speaking to reporters after closing the Self-Genius Programme organised by the Women and Family Department at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday, Fatimah added that the taskforce would also look into applications that were made before the establishment of the special taskforce.

“We also want to give priority to those applications made before 2016 because some had applied for more than six years and (the applications) still have not been processed, possibly because they have been mixed up with other applications.

“So we want to give those applications some due consideration and ensure that they (applicants) can obtain their citizenship,” she added.