Support Rights of the Stateless People and Children Who are BORN in Sabah (STOP Bumiputra's Definition Violation & STOP Ethnic Cleansing for Political and Supremacy Agenda)

To whom it may concern,

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to make an appeal for the stateless children and people who have born in Sabah or elsewhere in Malaysia. Please repeal the strict law in obtaining citizenship for the stateless people and children who born in Sabah or elsewhere in Malaysia which requires the citizenship status of their parents, and please treat them fairly in the most humanitarian way.

Stateless people and children who are born in Sabah or elsewhere within Malaysia need to have their rights protected. They should not be classified as Immigrants. They do not come illegally into Sabah, but they are born in Sabah. Although their parents are immigrants who are mostly from Indonesia and Philippines, they deserves to be treated fairly.

The Malaysian Government should make a clear stand and decision regarding the stateless people and children. They should not be treated like immigrants and they are not suppose to be send to their parents nationality country where they are not born from. They deserves to get citizenship in Malaysia.

As per points number 10th in the Sabah 20-points agreement 1963:-

The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:

a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence

b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”

c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.

Many of the stateless children have been given Temporary Citizen (Penduduk Sementara) status in their identity card in the 90s, and have been given only 5 years to stay, and they have been instructed to make their passport from their parents origin country. But now the Temporary Citizenship has been discontinued and Malaysia NRD (JPN) has stopped providing service for this kind of matter for the stateless children who born in Sabah. There is also MyPR (Pemastautin Tetap) type of Malaysia identity card which give "Permanent Resident" status to foreigners who are a spouse to Malaysian and officially proven that she/he have lived in Malaysia more than 5 years. If this MyPR type of citizenship and identity card can be obtained by foreigners who married a Malaysian and lived more than 5 years in Malaysia regardless of their parent citizenship, why do the children and people who born in Malaysia and lived more than 10 years in Malaysia with Birth Certificate cannot obtain Citizenship or at least MyPR (Permanent Resident)?

After some research, I have also find out that the Bumiputra terms in Sabah more or less had discriminate or affected certain group of stateless people and children as stated in the Article 160A (6)(a) Federal Constitution of Malaysia for Sabah :

"If one of the parents is a Muslim Malay or indigenous native of Sabah as stated in Article 160A (6)(a) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus his child is considered as a Bumiputra.

It is unfair and gives more advantage to the Muslim Malay since the terms of Malay race is a loose terms where the concept should be differs with that of the ethnic Malays centered on Malaysian Malay Peninsula and parts of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The scope and definition of Malay race includes Indonesia and Philippines, it does not only limited and known in Malaysia.

Here are one article which clearly proof the unfairness and misused of the terms of Malay race, “Kita juga meminta sijil nikah tapi jika tiada, anak akan mengguna bin atau binti Abdullah atau asmaulhusna lain walaupun bapa masih ada lagi,” katanya. - Pegawai Perhubungan Awam JPN, Jainisah Mohd Noor, HMetro. Which in English means: "We also ask for a marriage certificate but if it is not available, the child will use the bin or binti Abdullah or other attributes while the father is still alive," he said. Which also means regardless of the father's citizenship status. This clearly shows that they have more advantage which does not need to confirm the citizenship status of both of the parents and marriage document as the proof of the parents marriage.

Refering to Malaysia National Registration Department Rules, one must confirm that he/she is born in Malaysia on or after Malaysia Day (16 September 1963) based on the status of the mother or the father.

According to the Philippines Ambassador to Malaysia, J. Eduardo Malaya:-

"It is important that we deal with each individual on a case to case basis in ensuring steps that would be taken are done in the most humanitarian way as possible. "Many of these children of Filipino migrants in Sabah had practically lived their whole live here in Sabah,"

"They have been born here, grew up here and perhaps have the least connection with the old homeland (Philippines) and maybe in some cases they don't know whether they have anybody back in the Philippines," - Daily Express - Sunday, December 14, 2014

Therefore, humanity is highly needed for the stateless people and children who born in Sabah. This petition is NOT a petition to call for the rights of illegal immigrants or foreigner who came from OUTSIDE of Malaysia, but this petition is to defend the rights of the Stateless people and children who born in Sabah or elsewhere inside Malaysia.

Mainly there are four elements of human rights are affected:

1) Safety & Security

These stateless people including children and teenager who born in Sabah are often being chased and treated by the law enforcer such as police and immigration officers the same way with the illegal immigrants since they have no document such as passport or identity card, even if they have Birth Certificate. Some of them have birth certificate and some do not have any document because they were not born in the Hospital or their parents are afraid to get birth certificate for their children since they are illegal immigrants.

2) Education

By law, those who are not Malaysian Citizen including the stateless children and stateless people are unable to apply for Government School and further studies. Private Schools' fee are more expensive than the Government School, and could not promise a better future and career for them.

3) Job

By law, stateless people who don't have passport are also unable to apply for Job in Malaysia. Some have even cheated by companies who have promised them Work Passport.

4) Hospitality & Health

All fee / charge for foreigner including the stateless people and children at the Hospital are far more expensive than those who have identity card in Malaysia. Including the fee for giving birth. (Government Hospitals’ Treatment Charges for Foreigners - Ministry of Health Malaysia Official Portal)

"No one is born into this world by their own choice and get to choose who is their parents will be."

Thank you.