THE National Registration Department (NRD) is lying by shifting blame to four stateless siblings who failed to acquire Malaysian citizenship, Lawyers for Liberty said today.

Its director Zaid Malek said the NRD was wrong in claiming that the four had refused to give their cooperation on the matter.

He also urged the NRD to process and acknowledge the siblings as Malaysian citizens immediately. 

“Shockingly, not only were they denied assistance, but NRD has now maliciously resorted to defamatory statements in order to shift the blame upon the four siblings who have suffered for years due to NRD’s own wrongdoings and administrative failures.

“It is blatantly false that there were insufficient details of the parents’ marriage as claimed by NRD in its statement. 

“A copy of the marriage certificate, which was certified true under seal, was submitted to NRD officials yesterday,” he said in a statement. 

Zaid said the stateless siblings – Aziq, 24; Azreen, 22; Azzahra, 12; and Azalea, 9 – had gone to the NRD headquarters in Putrajaya yesterday to obtain acknowledgement of their Malaysian citizenship. 

“They went upon the invitation of NRD itself, made through a press release on Tuesday evening.

“The NRD also added unnecessary and unlawful conditions by requiring the applications to be made by a person who is already a citizen.

“There is no legal reason why the siblings themselves or any stateless individuals for that matter cannot make this application themselves.

“The constitution and laws impose no such condition. Those qualified for citizenship under article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution are entitled themselves to submit the application to NRD.

“There is no need for a ‘middleman’ with Malaysian citizenship to apply on their behalf. The siblings are being denied their rights due to unlawful and excessive bureaucratic requirements,” he said.

Zaid said it was wrong for NRD to claim that the four were uncooperative.

“On the contrary, NRD came with baseless objections, making the process difficult.

“What transpired yesterday was truly appalling; the siblings who came to NRD believing that they will get their citizenship issue resolved were instead met with officials bent on making the process difficult and further denying their rights.

“From the outset yesterday, NRD attempted to deny them the assistance of their lawyer to fill up the forms and to discuss with officers. It was only after repeated pleas that NRD finally allowed their lawyer to assist the siblings. What was the need for this?”

Zaid said throughout the process in NRD yesterday, instead of offering advice, multiple officers, including NRD director-general Zamri Misman, continuously harassed the siblings by accusing them of making the process difficult by involving lawyers and blamed them for not getting “proper advice” from the department before holding a press conference. 

“At one point, even with lawyers present, they attempted to hand over the foreigner’s citizenship application form which was clearly the wrong form, as the siblings are Malaysians as of right.

“What is NRD’s motive in misleading or obstructing the siblings, despite knowing that they are seeking Malaysian citizenship as of right through their Malaysian father and not as foreigners?

“All this despite the clear fact that the siblings qualify for Malaysian citizenship by virtue of their Malaysian father, in accordance with article 14(1)(b) and Second Schedule para 1(a) of the Federal Constitution. 

“Their Malaysian father and their Indonesian mother were married prior to the birth of the siblings. As legitimate children, they inherit the citizenship of their father under the constitution.”

Malek added that NRD and the government are fully responsible for the plight of the siblings, including denial of schooling to Azzahra and Azalea. He said it was the department’s solemn duty to facilitate and honestly assist them yesterday.

“The treatment received by the four siblings when dealing with NRD is inexcusable. One can only imagine how stateless persons are treated when their lawyers are not present. It is truly alarming that NRD officers act with such impunity and disregard of the constitution,” he said. – October 20, 2023.