JOHOR BARU: The Citizenship Briefing and Information Programme organised by the Stulang Constituency Service Centre has been postponed after backlash over an online poster for the event.
The postponement came after a Facebook user using the name "Nurul Mohamed Yusoff" had questioned a poster for the event with the title "Program Permohonan Kewarganegaraan (Citizenship Application Programme)".
The poster showed Chen and Penang Citizenship Programme supervisor Yeap Choon Keong.
The poster was also uploaded to TikTok by user @habibhassanali65.
Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen Kah Eng said that the briefing was initially organised to address issues of individuals lacking citizenship status or birth certificates due to parental negligence and other reasons.
“We regret to inform you that the Citizenship Briefing and Information Programme scheduled for June 30, 2024, has been postponed.
“It is hoped that no party will create any speculation following misunderstandings that have arisen from the title of our previous poster,” he said in a statement here on Saturday (June 8).
Chen added that the briefing would include a list of required documents for each case, guidance on referring to the relevant departments that need to be visited, and others.
“Each case will be required to refer to the respective department and be processed according to the suitability of that department.
“For instance, if a Malaysian father and an Indonesian mother get married, but their marriage is not legally recognised or registered in Malaysia, consequently, their child is born without a birth certificate, and the mother cannot be traced.
“As a result, the child will be unable to attend school, find stable employment with fair wages, qualify for vehicle ownership or driving licences, and may be involved in criminal cases or social problems,” he explained.
