Vasantha Kumar, an advisor to Persatuan Progresif Perikemanusiaan Selangor, said many members of the community are treated as “unwanted” as they do not have citizenship.

He delivered a memorandum to the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya today seeking help for 59 stateless people to gain citizenship.

Vasantha said only Anwar can help them resolve the issue as the stateless would get nowhere by merely following legal procedures.

He said the problem was not a normal issue” but a “hardcore” one. Among the group is a mother and her two sons who are fourth generation Malaysian-born, but are not citizens for a lack of birth certificates.

“The boys’ mother also lacks a birth certificate because her parents didn’t have any either,” he told reporters.

He said their case against the national registration department had been rejected by the court because of a lack of evidence regarding the citizenship status of the 59 people.