Rights VS Politics: Should We Give Birth Certs To Children Of Illegal Immigrants In Sabah?

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently announced that stateless children in Sabah would be given birth certificates on humanitarian grounds to allow them to get an education

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recently announced that Putrajaya would be working closely with the National Registration and the Education departments to issue birth certificates to stateless children, on humanitarian grounds, so as to allow them to get education.

Zahid noted that birth certificates for stateless children, including the sea gypsies along the East Coast, was one of the recommendations in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report which is expected to be released shortly either in whole or in stages “to prepare public opinion”.

The issue of stateless children in Sabah will be addressed once the findings of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants has been tabled in Parliament, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today. He said for now, the children will be given birth certificates for schooling purposes as it was humane to do so.

Zahid Hamidi's announcement rang an alarm among Sabahans whose state has been battling problems with citizenship and immigrants for years

On 1 June 2012, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the federal government has agreed to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate problems related to illegal immigration in Sabah. On 11 August 2012, the government officially announced the formation of the RCI. Political commentators have observed that the RCI appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to the defection of several prominent Sabahan BN politicians, who resigned in protest only a few days earlier because of the federal government's reluctance to deal with Sabah's immigration problems.

Should innocent children birthed by immigrants who entered Malaysia illegally be given a birth certificate? Prominent Sabahan politicians have voiced their concerns and objections, turning it into a debate of politics vs human rights.

Firstly, Penampang PKR MP Darell Leiking says Sabahans would be suspicious of the birth certs being misused to gain citizenship

Image via themalaymailonline.com

Penampang PKR MP Darell Leiking said it would be “disastrous” if such birth certificates are be misused to gain citizenship, similar to the problems that stemmed from the issuance of the IMM13 permits in the 1970s.

“We cannot deny the feelings and suspicions of many genuine Sabahans on how these IMM13 have been abused and re-abused by many immigrants to eventually obtained citizenship,” said Leiking, expressing fears of more “demographic engineering”. The Malaysian government began issuing IMM13 permits to Filipinos seeking asylum following the unrest in Muslim-majority Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. However, the permit, which was supposed to be renewed annually, has allegedly been abused to gain citizenship.

"So, this government must guarantee to the people of Sabah that those given the proposed ‘birth certificates’ can never be citizens of Sabah and that the abuse we have seen with IMM13 will never happen again."

Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee says Sabahans would view this proposal as a tactic to irreversibly change the demography of Sabah

Image via sapp.org.my

Another opposition leader, Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, was of the view that people would immediately see this as another tactic to irreversibly change the demography of Sabah. “Without a comprehensive solution on the illegals issue, Zahid is adding fuel to the fire. “People will see it as a tactic to irreversibly change the demography of Sabah, to the detriment of Sabahans and Sabah natives,” he said.

Given the dark history of illegal immigrants being given the right to vote, Star Sabah Chief Jeffrey Kitingan warned that Sabahans are not comfortable with the Home Ministry's proposal. He suggests that birth certs of stateless children must be differentiated from the locals'.

Image via freemalaysiatoday.com

Star Sabah Chief Jeffrey Kitingan is in principle against the Home Ministry’s plan to issue local birth certificates to stateless children of foreigners in Sabah but is open to the idea of talks on the issue. Zahid Hamidi's Announcement Rang An Alarm Among Sabahans

He warned that Sabahans are not comfortable with the idea to resolve the plight of the stateless children of foreigners “given the dark history of illegal immigrants being entered in the electoral rolls for reasons of political expediency”.

“It is a lame and unacceptable excuse that the birth certificates are given to future schooling purpose. It is nothing more than a disguise to eventually giving them ICs, citizenship and the right to vote. It is treason, to say the least,” he said. “The Sabah government needs to safeguard the rights and interests of Sabahans and to stand up to the federal government and stop their treasonous acts before it is too late,” he stressed.

Holding out an olive branch under the Task Force idea, he stressed that if the stateless children of foreigners in Sabah are eventually issued local birth certificates, it must be differentiated from the one held by Malaysians. “They must be classified in the birth certificate as non-Malaysian,” he said. “The birth certificates should of a different colour.”

Highlighting the same issue, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin says the birth certs can be issued on humanitarian grounds but the government has to ensure that the rights and interests of Sabahans will be protected

Image via themalaysiantimes.com.my

“It may be done on humanitarian grounds, but this is a very delicate issue and we must be careful not to add more problems to the existing ones we are now facing in Sabah, such as the.presence of illegal immigrants and the use of illegal documents.

“When we allow this (the proposal), then people from other countries can easily obtain identification cards and use them to vote during the elections, and this include those who had obtained ICs illegally,” Pairin, who is also the Infrastructure Development Minister, stressed.

“If you are doing this on humanitarian grounds, I believe soon we all can do anything, all in the name of ‘humanitarian grounds’. “To me, the genuine Sabahans long for the feeling of being protected and cared for. “They want the government to do something more so that their interest are properly defended,” said Pairin when met after receiving a call from National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Gabungan Pergerakan Pemuda Sabah (GPPS) president Datuk Jake Jikulin Nointin, "We do not want this to be done purely for political interest of some quarters to the extent that the rights of the natives in Sabah are eroded."

However, Gabungan Pergerakan Pemuda Sabah (GPPS) president Datuk Jake Jikulin Nointin said their fear was that the rights of Sabah natives would be compromised if the move to issue birth certificates was implemented.

GPPS, an alliance comprising youth leaders from Barisan Nasional’s Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), said any move to grant birth certificates must have a clear and transparent agreement as well as consent of the Sabahans. “We do not want this to be done purely for political interest of some quarters to the extent that the rights of the natives in Sabah are eroded,” said Nointin, who is PBS Youth chief.

But GPPS believes the Government should issue stateless children with special passes instead, said Nointin. “The Government can consider granting them citizenship if they meet all requirements under the law,” he added. He said GPPS felt that Putrajaya should work with Wisma Putra, the Philippine embassy, Unesco and relevant groups to find ways to resolve the issue of stateless children in Sabah.

In response, the National Registration Department explained that birth certs must be issued for any child born in the country, irrespective of the parents' nationality status, under the United Nations' children's rights convention.

Image via themalaysiantimes.com.my

Birth certificates must be issued for any child born in the country under the United Nations’ children’s rights convention, said National Registration Department director-general Datuk Sulaiman Keling. He said under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, the department was required to register and issue birth certificates irrespective of the parents’ nationality status.

“Since July 1, 2011, NRD has been issuing red birth certificates for children of foreigners or those whose citizenship is yet to be established or deemed stateless. Children of locals are issued green birth certificates,” he said.

Furthermore, Lawyers for Liberty says these fear, warnings, and demands would have serious repercussions on the lives and human rights of the vulnerable people in Sabah

While we do not doubt the issues they have raised, we view with serious concerns the populist and alarmist nature of their demands that may have serious repercussion on the lives and human rights of some of the most vulnerable people in Sabah, including undocumented women and street children of refugee/migrant descent.

Many live in poverty and a life of exploitation, unable to access basic social services like healthcare and education but are also unfairly blamed and easily targeted by politicians for social ills, including insecurity and violent crimes in Sabah.

They explained that birth registration is a fundamental right of all children and is different from a citizenship

Birth registration is a fundamental right of all children and a basic function of all modern governments. It is also an international obligation as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by 194 States, including Malaysia.

Let us be clear, birth registration only certifies birth, place of birth, parentage and is wholly different from the issue of citizenship. All citizenship matters including the granting of citizenship, identity documents and registration in the electoral roll must be conducted properly and in accordance with established laws, regulations and practises and not through corrupt practises, fraud or for improper political gains – which should not be connected with the issue of birth registration.

They sent a reminder that migrants and refugees have fundamental human rights under local and international law that should not be sacrificed for the sake of political mileage or sensationalism

Image via loyarburok.com

However, in our endeavour to enquire into wrongful past practises, we must be mindful that these are generations of migrants and refugees with varying histories and circumstances, many of whom have permanently settled in Sabah, intermarried, born or lived all their lives in the state. Consequently, these people may have properly acquired citizenship or permanent resident status and all the accompanying rights.

They have a relevant and genuine link with Sabah/Malaysia (through birth, habitual residence, descent, marriage or naturalisation) and rights under Malaysian and international law, including not to be made stateless, the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest/detention, not to be tortured, not to suffer inhumane and other degrading treatment and the right to life. While the issues at stake are serious and have far reaching consequences, the citizenship and fundamental human rights of persons should not be sacrificed for the sake of political mileage or sensationalism.