THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT PRACTISE TWO STANDARDS OF CITIZENSHIP
By DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN, President Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation refers to the recent court ruling concerning a woman born in Pahang who was denied recognition as a Malaysian citizen by operation of law.
According to the reported facts, the woman was born in Malaysia to a Malaysian biological father and an Indonesian mother. However, because her parents were not legally married at the time of her birth, the court held that her citizenship status must follow that of her mother under section 17 of Part III of the Second Schedule to the Federal Constitution.
The legal position applied by the court is that, in the case of a child born outside a legally recognised marriage, references to the child’s father for citizenship purposes are construed as references to the mother.
The decision follows established judicial authority that citizenship by operation of law must be determined according to the constitutional circumstances existing at the time of birth. The courts have also stated that any correction of the resulting discrimination or hardship ultimately lies with Parliament rather than the judiciary.
BoPiMaFo therefore does not direct its criticism towards the judges who are required to interpret and apply the Federal Constitution.
Our concern is directed towards a citizenship system that appears capable of imposing the strictest technical requirements upon persons genuinely born and raised in Malaysia, while the people of Sabah are still waiting for decisive action over the organised and irregular issuance of Malaysian identity documents to foreigners.
A MALAYSIA-BORN PERSON CAN BE LEFT WITHOUT A COUNTRY
The consequences of such citizenship decisions are not merely technical.
A person may be born in Malaysia, raised by a Malaysian parent, educated in Malaysian schools and live their entire life in this country, yet still be denied citizenship because of circumstances surrounding their parents’ marriage over which the child had absolutely no control.
In comparable cases, Malaysia-born applicants have reported being unable to continue their education, obtain driving licences, open bank accounts, secure lawful employment or live ordinary lives because they are not recognised as citizens. Some have repeatedly applied for citizenship without receiving reasons for the rejection of their applications.
A child does not choose:
– where he or she is born;
– whether the parents registered their marriage;
– whether a foreign parent disappears;
– whether the birth was properly documented; or
– whether government departments process an application fairly.
It is deeply troubling when an innocent person must bear lifelong punishment for circumstances created entirely by adults and administrative systems.
YET SABAH STILL CARRIES THE BURDEN OF PROJECT IC
The position in Sabah presents a painful and politically explosive contrast.
For decades, Sabahans have raised allegations that foreigners obtained Malaysian identity documents through irregular, fraudulent or politically motivated processes commonly associated with Project IC.
These allegations were sufficiently serious to require the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Immigrants in Sabah.
Evidence was presented concerning irregular documentation, questionable registration exercises, abuse of government procedures and the possible use of improperly documented persons for electoral purposes.
Yet more than a decade after the Royal Commission completed its inquiry, Sabahans are still entitled to ask:
Who received Malaysian identity documents unlawfully?
How many of those documents remain active?
How many holders of questionable documents are registered as voters?
How many responsible officers, intermediaries or political actors were investigated and prosecuted?
How many unlawfully issued identity documents were cancelled?
Why has the government not published a comprehensive implementation report on the Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations?
These questions cannot be dismissed as ancient history.
Anyone who possesses a MyKad may potentially obtain access to employment, public services, property rights, political participation and registration as a voter.
Therefore, an identity document allegedly obtained through fraud does not affect only the individual holder. It may affect Sabah’s population structure, electoral integrity, security and the constitutional position of its indigenous people.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST NOT APPLY TWO STANDARDS
The Malaysian Government cannot credibly maintain two different standards of citizenship:
One strict, technical and unforgiving standard for people genuinely born and raised in Malaysia; and
another opaque and inadequately investigated system for persons who may have acquired Malaysian identity documents through irregular means in Sabah.
BoPiMaFo is not suggesting that every undocumented migrant in Sabah possesses a MyKad.
Nor are we suggesting that citizenship should be granted merely because a person was physically born within Malaysia.
The Federal Constitution establishes specific requirements for citizenship, and every claim must be considered according to law.
However, the government must demonstrate equal determination on both sides of the citizenship system.
If the National Registration Department carefully investigates every document, parental relationship and marriage certificate before recognising a Malaysia-born person as a citizen, then it must exercise at least the same degree of scrutiny in investigating identity documents alleged to have been issued unlawfully to foreigners.
The law must not be merciless towards the Malaysia-born while remaining ineffective towards those who may have obtained the privileges of citizenship through fraud.
THIS IS NOT A DEMAND TO ATTACK GENUINE CITIZENS
BoPiMaFo emphasises that any review must be undertaken lawfully, individually and with full observance of due process.
No person should be targeted merely because of ethnicity, religion, language, appearance or place of origin.
Longstanding citizens and lawful residents must not be subjected to arbitrary harassment.
The issue is not race.
The issue is whether citizenship and identity documents were obtained in accordance with the Federal Constitution and the law.
Where fraud is alleged, it must be properly investigated.
Where citizenship was lawfully acquired, it must be respected.
Where a person was innocent of any wrongdoing but faces statelessness because of administrative or legal technicalities, the government must provide a fair, transparent and humane process.
BOPIMAFO’S DEMANDS
BoPiMaFo calls upon the Federal Government to take the following action.
1. Establish an independent citizenship and identity-document audit for Sabah
The audit should examine categories of documents identified through the Royal Commission of Inquiry, previous court proceedings, official investigations and other credible evidence.
It must be conducted by a body independent of the departments whose past conduct may itself require examination.
2. Publish an implementation report on the Royal Commission of Inquiry
The government must disclose which recommendations were accepted, which were implemented, which remain outstanding and the reasons for any failure to act.
General assurances are no longer sufficient.
3. Conduct a lawful cross-check with Sabah’s electoral roll
The National Registration Department and Election Commission must determine whether persons whose citizenship or identity documents were obtained unlawfully remain registered as voters.
Any action must comply with constitutional safeguards and due process, but the integrity of the electoral roll cannot be ignored.
4. Investigate those responsible for fraudulent documentation
The government must not concentrate only on document holders while protecting the officials, intermediaries or political actors who may have organised or facilitated unlawful documentation.
The architects and operators of any fraudulent scheme carry greater responsibility than persons who were used by it.
5. Introduce a transparent pathway for Malaysia-born stateless persons
Parliament and the Federal Government must review citizenship laws and administrative procedures that condemn innocent Malaysia-born persons to prolonged or lifelong statelessness.
Applications must be decided within a reasonable period, written reasons must be given, and applicants must have access to an effective review or appeal process.
6. Apply one national standard of scrutiny and justice
The same government that demands strict proof from a Malaysia-born applicant must disclose what it has done about identity documents allegedly distributed unlawfully in Sabah.
Citizenship cannot be treated as almost impossible for the innocent but insufficiently investigated where fraud is alleged.
SABAH’S DEMOGRAPHIC AND ELECTORAL SECURITY CANNOT BE IGNORED
For Sabah, citizenship administration is inseparable from the fundamental security assurances upon which North Borneo agreed to participate in the formation of Malaysia.
Sabah’s immigration safeguards were not ceremonial privileges.
They were intended to protect Sabah’s distinct social, demographic and political position within the Federation.
If foreign nationals were unlawfully documented and subsequently entered Sabah’s electoral roll, the consequences would extend beyond ordinary administrative wrongdoing.
It would affect the right of Sabahans to determine their own government through a lawful and constitutionally valid electorate.
It would also threaten the political representation and future of Sabah’s indigenous communities in their own homeland.
JUSTICE MUST WORK IN BOTH DIRECTIONS
The case of the Pahang-born woman should compel the government to examine the morality, consistency and effectiveness of Malaysia’s citizenship system.
A country has the right to protect the integrity of its citizenship.
But that integrity is not protected by denying recognition to vulnerable Malaysia-born persons while leaving serious allegations of fraudulent citizenship unresolved.
True citizenship integrity requires both:
compassion and justice for innocent persons who are genuinely connected to Malaysia; and
firm, transparent and lawful action against citizenship or identity documents obtained through fraud.
The question Sabahans must now ask is simple:
«How can a person genuinely born and raised in Malaysia struggle for decades to be recognised, while the government still cannot tell Sabahans how many foreigners may have obtained Malaysian identity documents through Project IC and how many remain on the electoral roll?»
Until that question is answered, every declaration about protecting citizenship integrity will remain incomplete.
Malaysia must have one law, one standard and one system of justice.
It cannot continue to be uncompromising towards the innocent while remaining silent about organised wrongdoing.
