Taskforce uncovers methods used to illegally obtain M’sian citizenship
KUCHING: Multiple applications with different names were among the tactics used by foreigners to obtain Malaysian citizenship and identification document in Sarawak.
National Registration Department ( NRD) Sarawak director Jasni Jubli disclosed that the special taskforce came across these cases during its mobile registration operations.
“We also found out another attempt to obtain citizenship by becoming adopted children of local people. They will come over to the locations when they learn about our mobile registration operations and try to insert the names of their family members as adopted children,” he elaborated.
“There are also those who have applied numerous times using different names from their original name so as to get the citizenship,” he added.
Jasni highlighted this during a press conference with Minister of Welfare, Community, Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah after a meeting at her office in Baitulmakmur Building yesterday.
Their tactics, he continued, were normally uncovered during interviews conducted with the applicants in the presence of village chiefs or community leaders who found out that they were not locals.
Up until Nov 28 this year, the NRD special taskforce had carried out 158 operations throughout Sarawak during which 6,784 applications for late registration of births were received.
Out of the figure, 4,586 applications were approved while 2,198 were rejected for various reasons including being noncitizen, non-biological child, not born in Sarawak and others.
“The major problem for rejected applications is in Baram area,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Fatimah emphasised that the special taskforce team carried out mobile registration programmes in rural and remote areas with assistance from elected representatives.
“Our role and function are to filter and investigate the applications to ensure they are genuine and all forms are properly completed. The status of the applicants can be verified by community leaders ( Tuai Rumah and Penghulu) who are familiar with and know their backgrounds,” she said.