SIBU: The Home Ministry has been urged to resolve the issue of stateless persons in Sabah and Sarawak speedily, or give the Borneo states the power to do so themselves.
Bawang Assan SUPP chief Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew, in his debate on the Royal Address by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the ongoing Dewan Negara sitting, said almost all of the people affected are from the B40 group and living in rural areas.
Lau said that from 2017 to Feb 15 this year, nearly 9,259 citizenship applications have been received for children under 18 from Sabah and Sarawak, as stated by the Home Minister in the Dewan Rakyat on March 14.
Of these, he added, only 198 had been approved.
"These children cannot be part of Keluarga Malaysia. They are subject to abuse and (exploitation). They cannot seek assistance. Their education is restricted and they have to find work in the underground economy for cash without any protection under the law," he said.
In view of this constant and growing problem, Lau said the practical solution would be to give the two states the power to register those affected and issue identity cards to those who qualify for them.
"This power can be delegated to Sarawak and Sabah as allowed under Article 80 (4), (5) and (6) of the Federal Constitution," he said.
On fairer representation for Sabah and Sarawak in Parliament, he suggested that the seat distribution in both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara should be based on the three regions of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
"Sabah and Sarawak should be allocated at least one-third of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat. As for the Dewan Negara, the 40 seats under Article 45 (1) (c) of the Federal Constitution (appointed by the Yang Di-Peruan Agong) should be equally distributed among the three regions," he said.
Lau backed up his statement by saying that during first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman's five-day tour of Sabah and Sarawak in November 1962 to drum up support for the concept of Malaysia, he made an offer of 40 seats in the future Malaysian Parliament.
Lau quoted the Tunku, as reported by Sarawak Information Service, as saying then that "at the moment, the Malayan Alliance Government with 77 (out of 104 seats in Parliament) is able to change the law and the Constitution at any time, but with 40 seats from the Borneo Territories we would not be able to do that unless with the fullest approval of the Bornean representatives.”
Further to that on Nov 17, 1962 in Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu), the Tunku announced that he was willing to let Sabah and Sarawak have 40 seats in Parliament, Lau added.