Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: The decision by the Home Affairs Ministry to discontinue the Sarawak Special Committee on Citizenship under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution would jeopardise the chances for abandoned babies to be adopted, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister said due to the citizenship status of such babies being listed as ‘Not Known’, it would be difficult for adoptive parents to bring the children out of Sarawak owing to them being ‘stateless’.
“One of my concerns is the fate of abandoned babies placed in the care of the Welfare Department at Rumah Kanak Kanak Toh Puan Norkiah. Because the babies are abandoned, we do not know who their parents are. So as their guardian, the Welfare Department has to apply for citizenship on behalf of these abandoned babies,” she told The Borneo Post yesterday.
She said as these babies were considered ‘stateless’, those wishing to adopt one would face a lot of difficulties owing to ‘question marks’ over the children’s citizenship status.
“These are the ‘voiceless’ children that we (special committee) fight for under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution. The longer they are status-less or stateless, the more difficult life would be for them and their adoptive parents — that is, if they get adopted,” she said.
According to her, applications for citizenship received through the special committee would be prioritised; meaning processing the applications would be done quicker.
With the committee now discontinued, applications from Sarawak would now be put together with those from other states, added Fatimah.
Home Affairs Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is scheduled to be in the city today to hand over the approved Malaysian citizenship applications to Sarawakians, among his many other programmes.