Umno’s Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah arriving for Umno meeting at Menara Dato Onn on Wednesday night. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
LAHAD DATU: Malaysian citizenship will not be granted arbitrarily, assures Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (pic).
He said citizenship is one of the highest honour the government can bestow and will only be granted to individuals who are truly eligible and meet the conditions set out in the Federal Constitution.
“The granting of citizenship requires thorough investigation and careful consideration before the appropriate documentation can be issued to qualified individuals,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri event yesterday.
The deputy minister was responding to a question about Malaysian citizens who have missed the opportunity to register their personal documentation, which can complicate the verification of their citizenship status.
Shamsul Anuar said the National Registration Department (NRD) is carrying out the Mekar programme, a government initiative aimed at reaching out to communities in remote and rural areas by providing essential services such as birth registration and identity card issuance.
He said the programme is intended to ease the process of obtaining personal identification documents without requiring residents to travel long distances to NRD offices.
“NRD officers will be deployed to remote areas with the necessary equipment to help communities by offering advisory services and resolving documentation-related issues,” he said, Bernama reported.
On another matter, Shamsul Anuar said the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has been effective in maintaining security along the east coast of Sabah, with no kidnapping incidents reported since Jan 15, 2020.
However, he advised all parties to remain vigilant and support joint operations among security agencies, such as Ops Sanggah and Ops Gasak to continue to be held to track down criminal elements, informants, and cross-border threats.
