Rule of Law
should take over
Rule by arbitrary Law
for granting citizenship

Malaysian Citizenship Law should be reviewed urgently from the present unjust law that practice discriminations to the law that respects Equal Human Rights in compliance to contemporary International Practice and according to true Islamic teachings.

Malaysian Home Ministers and their Deputy Ministers used to proudly claim in the newspapers that granting citizens is not the migrant’s right but the privilege granted as rewards or sympathy.

This concept is basically wrong. The highly qualified migrants who could contribute to the progress of Malaysia are deserved to be accepted and should be granted citizenship without delay. Malaysia should make the new citizenship law by granting a right to the qualified migrant, of course only if he is entitled according to the law and is free from any crimes.

Even the Malaysian MPs are openly complaining that it is very fast and easy for millions of some neighbouring citizens to get Malaysian Red or Blue ICs. But for the Burmese / Myanmar it is very difficult and any few of us who even got the PR feels as if they had won the lottery!

Although it is a top secret but every Tom and Dick knows that the present Law is arbitrary and subject to the discriminations and abuses. The Home Ministry officials and Immigration department are doing what they want by using this Law. It could lead to abuse of power and corruption.

Please refer to the following modern concepts of Good Governance:

“That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.” Thomas Jefferson.
Decentering British Governance: (from Bureaucracy to Networks, Mark Bevir , Assistant Professor of Politics University of California Berkeley and R.A. W. Rhodes Department of Politics University of Newcastle.)
The New Governance: Governing without Government (R. A. W. Rhodes, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.)
Devolution. (It is the statutory granting of powers from the central government to the lower authorities.)
Decentralization (It is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people or citizen.
Decentralization is the policy of delegating decision-making authority down to the lower levels in an organization, relatively away from and lower in a central authority.

A decentralized organization shows fewer tiers in the organizational structure, wider span of control, and a bottom-to-top flow of decision-making and flow of ideas.

Malaysia should make a new law with definite terms and conditions, rules and regulations and time ceiling to approve the various applications not only for this Citizenship Law, but in general every where at all the levels of authorities.

Let there be Rule of Law. Let the pre-written Regulations Rule and decide for every application in all the places. Then there would be clear transparency and could reduce the corruption.

It is better for the ordinary people without cables if all the local and federal permissions or granting of all licenses are automatically approved until and unless it is against the clearly written rules and regulations. If the approval authority is left with any officer it would open a chance for corruption.

Delaying the approvals invites the applicants’ desire to grease the hands of the persons who handle his application.

Recently, one of my friends sadly say early good bye to us because one Home Ministry official told him that he is not a Medical Doctor and could not be regarded as professional and is usually not entitled to get PR.

May you kindly allow me to present his credentials:

He is in Malaysia for TWENTY years.
He is working as a contract professional for Malaysia Information Ministry for 18 years.
He was a Buddhist, converted to Islam. (He registered at PERKIM and even studied Islam with the visa approved by Pusat Islam.)
He got three degrees; a bachelor degree and two post graduate degrees.
His wife also got two degrees; a bachelor degree and post graduate degree.
His only son is also a graduate and is now registered to marry a Sarawakian non Muslim graduate girl who converted to Islam officially to marry him.
That future daughter-in-law is a Malaysian citizen and got a diploma.
He had helped the police and courts involving Myanmars on numerous occasions and he had attached the recommendation letter from ASP from PDRM.
He had even helped to set up the Myanmar Language Classes in UKM Bangi Because he is working in RTM, he could not give full follow up support to UKM. ( So the classes were abandoned.)
He had written about two dozen books: Malay Myanmar dictionary, Myanmar Malay dictionary and many books teaching Myanmar Migrants how to speak and communicate in Malay.
He had no criminal record and has an unblemished character.
MCA Datuk Michael Chong wrote a supporting letter to the previous MCA Deputy Home Minister. That Minister wrote a letter again to the relevant high ranking officer. But all are gone with the Wind of Change that blew on 8/3.
His family has no political problem with Myanmar Junta as his son is helping the Myanmar Military Attaché by translating Malay newspapers into Burmese.
And he is not dismissed nor retired but as RTM is facing financial problems and wish to cut the budget and is planning to close Myanmar, Thailand, Tamil etc language programmes only.

If he is not fit to get the citizenship in Malaysia, we should made this a benchmark for granting citizenships to Malaysia’s most favored Indonesians, Pilipino and Thai Muslims also. If we look at those millions of migrants who are already accepted would fail that Litmus Test.

I hope KDN dare not make this Myanmar PR applicant’s credentials a benchmark for accepting other PR applicants from Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.

ASEAN Charter would allow the free flow of capital and man power in ASEAN. Even Tun Dr Mahathier had predicted recently that ASEAN could issue common passports.

There are a lot of ex and present Malaysian Ministers and PMs who were the children of migrants. Actually all the previous PMs up to the present PM and many UMNO Secretary Generals (so BN Secretary Generals) are mixed blooded people. Malaysians should discard the usual xenophobia and appreciate their tremendous contributions to our country.

It is the time to withdrawal of arbitrary law and replace with a clear new law that is not Xenophobic and treat all the nationals, races and religious persons around the world. Malaysia must make a clear point what kind of person with which qualities would be accepted as its new citizens.

With the increasing Globalization and the comming ASEAN Chater, allowing the integration of all ASEANS, Malaysians should be more generous and open hearted to review and totally revamp the present Xenophobic Citizenship Law and open its arms to welcome the new migrants.