KOTA KINABALU: Former deputy chief minister Datuk Christina Liew (pic) has urged the Home Ministry to resolve a Malaysian citizenship application by a senior citizen from Sabah without further delay.
Christina, who is also Tawau MP, said this concerned the application by 65-year-old Ling Man Kit @ Ling Vun Ket, who currently has permanent residency status.
She said Ling, a stroke survivor, applied for a MyKad in 2018 but has so far not received any word on his application.
“Until today, the ministry has not informed him on the result of his application. I call on the Home Ministry to immediately re-visit Ling's application for Malaysian citizenship status and approve the application,” she said, in a statement here on Friday (July 15).
Christina explained that Ling was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese national mother and a Malaysian father who was born in Kimanis, Papar in 1927.
She said, however, Ling was brought by his parents to North Borneo, as Sabah was known pre-independence, sometime in the late 1950s when he was only 16-months-old.
“As related to me, Ling was initially given a Malaysia blue identity card (IC). In 1975, he applied for a new IC when he was 18-years-old.
“Instead, he said he was issued a MyPR Malaysia card (Malaysia Permanent Resident identity card).”
Christina said Ling then applied for a MyKad in 2018, adding he later received a letter dated Sept 20, 2019, from the Citizenship Division under the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya.
Based on the content of the letter, she said, Ling’s application was being looked into by the department concerned before being presented for consideration and the would-be outcome.
“This is a unique case involving a permanent resident who by right should be a Malaysian citizen by virtue of having a Malaysian father,” said Christina who is also the Api-Api state representative.
She added that she had also written to the Sabah NRD in April this year, inquiring about Ling's MyKad application.
“I am given to understand that Ling was advised by a source in the department to call up the Home Ministry himself. Is this a new norm? Not that I know of.
“Ling is a retiree who suffered a stroke some years ago. We should not subject him to unnecessary stress and a sense of helplessness,” she said.
Christina pointed out that Sabah NRD should instead assist Ling in following up about the status of his application and find out if there were other necessary matters or steps to be done.
“The idea of asking any applicant to communicate directly with the Home Ministry is definitely not in line with NRD’s client service charter ‘Rakyat di Hati JPN’ (the people are in the heart of NRD),” she said.
