Claim of 300,000 stateless Indians baseless, says MIC

PUTRAJAYA: The claim that there are 300,000 stateless Indians in the country is not true and is purely politically motivated, said MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

The Health Minister said the Government gave maximum exposure to its Mega MyDaftar documentation programme and yet the numbers claimed did not turn up.

“There were plenty of opportunities for those who made the claim to come forward and prove the allegation, during the Mega MyDaftar programme but none have done so.

“As far as I’m concerned, that claim has no basis. It is purely a political statement,” said Dr Subramaniam, after witnessing the Mega MyDaftar 2017 programme on its final day at the National Registration Department.

The programme, which began on June 5, was set up to sort out documentation problems among Indians in Malaysia, including citizenship issues.

Dr Subramaniam said the programme has received more than 2,000 cases.

“All of these applications will be reviewed and looked into thoroughly, so that we can help solve these issues in the best way,” he said.

He said the Government would need to review some of the policies concerning citizenship registration, including adoption procedures.

“For example, we have come across cases where parents who adopt a child through the Welfare Department are faced with documentation issues.

“This can occur when one biological parent of the child is not a citizen.

“But if we have couples willing to adopt a child and take it off the welfare system, then the Government should make it easier for them and not burden them with such issues later in life.

“After all, they are doing the Government a favour.

“This is one of several policies that we think should be looked into,” said Dr Subramaniam.

The Mega MyDaftar programme is an initiative under the recently launched Malaysian Indian Blueprint which lays out specific targets and policies to address the plight of the community.