KOTA KINABALU: Stateless children should be given some form of support and assistance so that they will not become a bigger burden to society in the future.
According to Sabah Backpacker Operators Association (SBA) president, Richie Lee, yesterday, letting the stateless children to work may constitute child labour and there could be some serious legal and moral implications if that were to happen.
He added, however, that his proposal was only good for the short term, citing that it will provide the authorities with the opportunity to document them since no one knew their exact population in Sabah.
Secondly, by assisting them, the city will have a better image, he said.
He reminded that the problem could escalate into something bigger if nothing is done to resolve it.
“However, I believe that our government has to be extremely careful in handling this issue as we do not want to send the wrong message to this group of people that it is fine to be stateless,” he said.
He then urged the government to come up with a long term plan with effective enforcement from the local authorities to overcome the problem.
He also reminded that these stateless children were victims of circumstances and that they did not ask to be stateless.
“They did not ask to be stateless. They did not ask to be born into that situation. In many cases, their parents have abandoned them and they have to fend for themselves,” he said.
He added that the children were not educated and receive no health care.
“Some may not even have shelter or even have a meal every day,” he said.
He said that as signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children, Malaysia should find a way to help them.
“We don’t want them to grow up to be even worse criminals. We want them to be a helpful part of society.”