KUALA LUMPUR – The demographics of Malaysia, with 70% of the population being Malay-Bumiputera, will not be affected by citizenship applications, said DAP’s Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan.
He pointed out that not all citizenship applications were from Chinese individuals, but instead were legitimate cases, not tourists from China as alleged by the opposition.
“Many applicants have valid reasons for seeking citizenship. Some have lived here for a long time but have not received a blue identity card due to documentation issues.
“Some are adopted children of Malaysian parents who want to make them Malaysian citizens. There are children born to Malaysian mothers, but due to unregistered marriages, these children cannot obtain citizenship through legal means,” he said on social media platform X yesterday evening.
He said that every application would be thoroughly reviewed by the National Registration Department (NRD) to ensure it was in order before being submitted to the minister.
“Racist mindset. (If you dare, come, and I’ll show you how many applications we receive, not individual cases, to protect privacy and personal data),” he challenged a netizen who had sarcastically asked for his response to the issue.
In response, Syahredzan had urged the netizen and those with similar views to cease insulting NRD officials.
Earlier, a citizenship briefing and explanation session scheduled for June 30 in Johor Bahru was postponed amid widespread public backlash.
While no explanation was provided for the postponement, DAP’s Stulang state assemblyman Andrew Chen Kah Eng hoped no one would speculate due to misunderstandings from their posters.
Syahredzan expressed his sadness that the citizenship issue, which impacts the lives of ordinary people, had been politicised and wrapped in racism.
“Every application must be supported by documented evidence, which many people are unaware of. Programmes like these inform applicants about the required documentation,” he said.
“This citizenship issue is real – and it impacts people’s lives. For instance, the issue of children with non-citizen fathers went to court, necessitating a constitutional amendment,” he said. – June 9, 2024