THE government will, in a year’s time, form a committee to address the issues of citizenship, late registration of births and migrant worker documentation in Sabah, said de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong.

Among the agencies to be included in the panel are the National Registration Department (NRD), Immigration Department and judiciary, he told reporters after closing a dialogue involving lawmakers and the civil service in Kota Kinabalu today.

He said government agencies have long operated in silos, and suggested that the judiciary expand its mobile court programmes to tackle the issue of late registration of births in Sabah’s interior.

State NRD director Ismail Ahmad called on politicians to “stop spreading lies”, saying the department actively conducts programmes to help eligible citizens obtain birth certificates and MyKad.

“We want to help those without documents get these documents. We will never give citizenship to illegal immigrants. We do not give documents to those who are not eligible.”

Among the topics discussed during the dialogue was the need to restructure native courts and laws so as to provide clear guidelines to non-Muslim natives on matters such as divorce, adoption and agent of consent for marriage. – November 16, 2018.