KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): The Home Ministry has approved 225 out of 722 citizenship applications under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution received in Sarawak between 2024 and September this year.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said that of the total applications, 306 had received final decisions from the ministry, including 18 rejections, while the remaining 416 were still being processed.
“These cases will be presented for consideration and decisions at this year's Sarawak Special Committee on Citizenship Status (JKKSK) meeting,” he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Dr Richard Rapu @ Aman Begri (GPS-Betong) on the effectiveness of the JKKSK in expediting the verification of cases involving undocumented children between 2024 and 2026, as well as the number of recommended applications that had received final approval from the Home Ministry.
Shamsul Anuar said the final authority to decide on citizenship applications remained with the ministry, while the committee served as a collaborative mechanism to ensure a more inclusive and fair application management process, besides helping to expedite verification and reduce citizenship-related issues among children in Sarawak.
In reply to a supplementary question from Dr Richard on the coordination of interim policies to ensure that undocumented children had access to education and public healthcare services without being charged foreigner rates while awaiting decisions on their citizenship applications, Shamsul Anuar said the matter was subject to the policies and jurisdictions of the relevant ministries and agencies.
He said access to formal education and public healthcare services, including treatment charges, should be referred to the Education Ministry and Health Ministry, while matters concerning children’s welfare and social protection could be referred to the Social Welfare Department for further assessment and action based on their respective needs and eligibility.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Anuar said the establishment of the JKKSK was a collaborative mechanism between the federal and state governments to expedite the verification process for applications under Article 15A, following the high number of applications received in the state.
“We take this matter very seriously and have not appointed any non-governmental organisation (NGO) or individual to handle the citizenship application process. However, if the Honourable Member has any issues or matters to raise, we can assist and bring them to the ministry’s attention,” he said.
He said this in his reply to a supplementary question from Rushdan Rusmi (PN-Padang Besar) on the possibility of the ministry establishing a special mechanism, similar to the one in Sarawak, to expedite citizenship applications for undocumented children in Perlis.
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