MALAYSIA is committed to reduce the number of stateless people in the country, said Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, adding that it recently approved 1,641 citizenship applications.

Speaking at a high-level event on statelessness in Geneva, Switzerland, Muhyiddin said his ministry has adopted more transparent procedures to facilitate the process.

“A task force has been established to look into existing barriers. This task force will continue its work in the foreseeable future so we can further reduce the number of stateless people.

“We have taken measures to reduce and prevent statelessness, in accordance with applicable international standards and relevant domestic laws.

“Our revised policies will facilitate adoption process and help to curb baby-selling and smuggling. We are also taking measures to achieve universal birth registration by simplifying procedures and improving access to the process.”

Muhyiddin said Putrajaya has sanctioned various outreach programmes and the implementation of the MyDaftar programme that has helped those who have been living without official documents.

“Malaysia acknowledged that some sections of the population are at risk of statelessness. This maybe because their living conditions make it difficult for them to register births or obtain related documents.

“In line with the spirit of sustainable development goals of leaving no one behind, particularly those who are in vulnerable situations, Malaysia has sanctioned outreach programmes to encourage civil registration, especially in rural and remote areas with the aim to facilitate access to social services.

“A total of 227,481 applications in 8,412 separate outreach programmes were facilitated by the National Registration Department from 2012 to 2017. In the first eight months of 2019, 1,066 outreach programmes were been conducted.”

Muhyiddin also disclosed that Malaysia has been receiving a large number of stateless people from Myanmar and as a result, is facing a financial burden.

“Malaysia has been dealing with this issue for a long time. Although we are not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, we have been receiving a large number of stateless people from the region, especially Myanmar, and the numbers are increasing.

“As a consequence, we have not only been grappling with financial burden of hosting them, but having to tackle security risks and social problems.

“However, we remain committed to working towards strengthening our partnership with the UNHCR in support of efforts to overcome this problem.” – October 8, 2019.