A DAP lawmaker has urged Prime Minister Najib Razak to take the plight of stateless Malaysian Indians seriously, after the latter rubbished claims that 300,000 ethnic Indians living in Malaysia were without citizenship. 

Klang MP Charles Santiago said Najib and his cabinet ministers should not be so quick to dismiss the numbers.

“The government launched the MyDaftar initiative in Feb 2011 and more recently a Mega MyDaftar in June 2017 to resolve documentation issues by the Indian community.

“Six years down the line, the issue shows no sign of ending. For every one who registers , there may be three more who don’t do so due to various factors,” he said in a press conference at Parliament today. 

Najib yesterday said the claim was a lie and that only about 2,500 Malaysian Indians had applied for citizenship, including those born before independence and whose births were not registered.

“I suggest that Prime Minister Najib Razak stop harping on the number of stateless Indians number but focus on resolving the thousands of pending cases within a given time frame,” Santiago said. 

He added that stateless residents faced a lot of problems and were denied access to basic rights because they did not hold a citizenship.

In his constituency, he said, there were many he had tried to help, including children who could not obtain school textbooks because of their mother’s stateless status.

“Those in this situation tend to be poor and live in low-cost flats,” Santiago said.

“While the government’s efforts through the Mega MyDaftar programme is praiseworthy, Najib and his ministers should not dismiss the assertion that there are thousands more Indians who are stateless. Such a matter should not be politicised.”