Speaking to FMT, Sen said he agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that there are no stateless people in Malaysia because no one is allowed to enter the country without legal travel documents.
He was reacting to a complaint made recently by Datu Mohd Akjan Datu Ali Muhammad, the adviser for the Suluk Sabah Mixed Blood United. In an interview with FMT, Akjan said about 60,000 people of Suluk descent in Sabah were stateless. According to him, many of them have at least one Malaysian parent and others are IMM13 holders who have resided in Sabah for decades.
Previously in Sabah, any person seeking citizenship needed only to produce a letter of verification from a village chief.
However, it was alleged that the method was heavily abused, with village chiefs accused of issuing such letters to illegal immigrants for a fee. This led to the abolition of the method.
Sen indicated that he believed Akjan was asking the government to simply trust people who claim to be eligible for citizenship or permanent residence.
“We cannot simply grant permanent resident status or citizenship by confession only and without proof,” he said. “We already have an influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah. Who knows whether these people or their children are really who they say they are?”
Echoing Zahid, he said the term “stateless” would refer to a person with no nationality or country of origin.
“A child born in Sabah would have at least a mother,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the parents to provide the legal documents which would state their country of origin and thus their nationality. And because they have a nationality, how can we have stateless people?”
Sen said his comments should not be construed as discrimination against any person or his origin, adding that he believed no eligible person should be denied citizenship or permanent residence.
“I merely say that the government shouldn’t bend over backwards to grant requests by certain groups based only on sentiments and without following the proper procedures,” he added.
Referring to Akjan’s complaint, he said: “I sincerely hope the problem will be resolved as soon as possible.”
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