I refer to the statement by PM Najib Tun Razak today that there
are only 9,000 stateless Indians in the country and that Pakatan
Rakyat's estimate of 300,000 is exaggerated.
The PM's statement is a dishonest and disgraceful attempt to play down the number of stateless Malaysians of Indian descent; the tiny figure of 9000 is baseless and illogical. The PM is mocking and lying to the Indian community.
Absurdly,the PM bases his estimate upon the number of persons who had
approached JPN counters during the MyDaftar campaign, which was carried
on for just a few weeks last year. Obviously, the majority of the
stateless would have been overlooked during this short campaign!To register the stateless, it is not enough to open extra counters at JPN. In order to resolve the problem, it is necessary to go down to the affected persons throughout the nation and systematically register them.
Unfortunately, Najib has not shown the political will or inclination to carry out this exercise and end this great injustice.
Born & lived in Malaysia all their lives
The
problem of statelessness is shockingly widespread among Malaysian
Indians, whether rural or urban. The stateless, are denied proper
schooling, employment and access to basic amenities.The problem is also
becoming worse as it has become generational, with statelessness passed
down to the younger generation.As a result, thousands of Indian children of school-going age are also prevented from schooling or receive incomplete schooling. A prominent example is the case of 17 year old B Reshina who faced obstacles in registering for the SPM exam earlier this year.
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