UUM Journal of Legal Studies, 13, No. 1 (January) 2022, pp: 345–380
such as refugees and asylum seekers, the differences between stateless
and refugee children were often not taken into serious consideration
by the authorities and civil society (Allerton, 2014 & Lumayag, 2016).
As such the government could not identify the stateless population in
civil society, or take the necessary action effectively to prevent or
reduce statelessness.
(v) No Law and Policy regarding Stateless Children or People
This research finding has established that there was no specific law
and policy on stateless children or statelessness in Malaysia. Based
on the interviews with several respondents from selected government
departments, such as the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC),
Ministry of Education (MOE), National Security Council (MKN,
Sabah) and Social Welfare Department (Putrajaya and Sabah), it was
concluded there was an absence of any specific set of law/legislation
regarding the stateless person/child. This non liquet or lacuna in
the law has created a vague understanding or interpretation of the
definition of stateless person, refugee or asylum seeker in Malaysia.
However, the issue of stateless children has always been continuously
highlighted in the media12, NGO reports (SUARAM, 2017, p.108-112)
and even in the Hansards. The House of Representatives (known as the
Dewan Rakyat) and the Senate (known as the Dewan Negara) have
consistently debated various aspects that were related to statelessness
in Malaysia. A search of the related Hansards from the year 2000 until
2019 was made and the records compiled and analysed. The focus was
on the issue of stateless children, especially with regard to the absence
of specific laws or policies to address matters pertaining to citizenship
and the right to education for stateless children in Malaysia.
The following are the summary of the findings from the analysis of
the related Hansards, which have been included in Appendixes 1 and
2:
a. At least sixteen (16) Hansards (Appendix 1 - The House of
Representatives Hansards - 2009 to 2019) and five (5) Hansards
12
Malaysia Kini Online News. (February 3, 2021). Some Stateless Children Still
Denied Access To Government School – MP. https://www.malaysiakini.com/
news/561464>. Retrieved date: 9.3.2021.
358
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