Statelessness Working Paper Series No. 2017/9 of continued political resistance grounded in threats to racial and religious balance, border and security, and possible penetration into electoral roll by foreigners are also challenges. 17 Such populations include the Sama dilaut or Bajau Laut, the traditionally migratory people, the majority of whom have settled more permanently in coastal areas of Sabah and are considered to be highly at risk of statelessness. Having no documents and other evidence to prove their nationality for generations and not being accepted as citizens by any country, their circumstances closely fit the definition of a ‘stateless person’ as defined by the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons. 18 For many of them, indefinite detention, chronic poverty, malnutrition, and the social problems of children being excluded from education and becoming victims of insolvent abuse, constitute the overarching account of their everyday life.19 A more concerted effort at the national level to understand the profiles of other ‘at risk’ groups and the reasons for and effects of their lack of nationality has slowly gained traction. In 2016, a collective engagement with the newly identified network of academics and researchers in the area of statelessness in Malaysia took effect for the first time in Kuala Lumpur. Co-convened by UNHCR Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in September 2016, the participants—comprised mostly of academics working on statelessness from various disciplines—acknowledged the priority of looking into improving the qualitative data of the Bajau Laut community in order to design suitable solutions to end their non-belonging and enduring plights.20 Drawing from DHRRA’s pioneering accomplishments and with the technical support from UNHCR Malaysia, similar mapping and assistance programmes of those adopted for the Indians of Tamil descent are now being studied in the implementation context of Sabah. Anchored by participatory approaches with relevant stakeholders including affected and neighbouring communities, initial engagements have also been pursued with the country’s advocacy network on statelessness, community-based organisations in Sabah, relevant government agencies and academic experts. 3. Ensuring No Child is Born Stateless As with many other countries, statelessness in Malaysia continues to affect foundlings (children born to unknown parents), children separated from parents with no proof of parentage, and children born outside of wedlock. The jus sanguinis principle—to which Malaysia adheres—is strictly conditioned on proof of the legality of marriage on the part of the (biological) parents and place of birth of the child. In order to be eligible for automatic citizenship at birth, the child concerned must be born in Malaysia 17 Azizah Kassim, 'Filipino refugees in Sabah: State Responses, Public Stereotypes and the Dilemma Over Their Future', (2009) 47 (1) The Southeast Asian Studies, p 52-88; Catherine Allerton, ‘Statelessness and the Lives of the Children of Migrants in Sabah, East Malaysia’ (2014) 19 Tilburg Law Review (1-2): p 26-34; Commissoners of Enquiry on Immigrants in Sabah, ‘Report of The Commission of Enquiry on Immigrants in Sabah' (2014) 18 Under Article 1(1) of the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, a ‘stateless person’ is “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. Article 12(4) of 1966 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights further provides, “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country”. There were many Bajau Laut who were detained as irregular migrants by the Malaysian authority but could not be returned to any country, including the Philippines. (Interview with an official of the National Security Council (Sabah), Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. 30 May 2015) 19 Helen Brunt, ‘The Sustainable Development Agenda and Childhood Statelessness’ in Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, The World’s Stateless Children (Wolf Legal Publishers 2017); Helen Brunt, ‘A position paper on " The vulnerability of Bajau Laut (Sama Dilaut) Children in Sabah"' (APRRN, March 2015), http://www.aprrn.info/1/images/PDF/Bajau_Laut_position_paper_FINAL.pdf accessed 7 September 2017 20 Workshop for Academics: Researching and Teaching Nationality & Statelessness, 27 & 28 September 2016, Park Royal, Kuala Lumpur, http://initiativeour.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Statelessness-WorkshopBooklet.pdf accessed 25 November 2017 7