文告:
马华妇女组全国主席拿汀巴杜卡周美芬欢迎内政部长拿督斯里希山慕丁宣布政府将全面解决国内公民权问题，并希望存在已久的外籍配偶和孩子的居留权和公民权问题将获得一劳永逸的解决，以体现大马政府实践平等及杜绝歧视的人道主义精神。
“马华妇女组一直以来都在关注外籍配偶和孩子的居留权和公民权课题.并以作出相关努力。上个月5日（5/6/09），妇女组针对有关课题，曾与包括律师公会 (BAR COUNCIL)妇女援助机构（WAO），全国妇女理事会（NCWO）和隆雪华堂妇女组等数个非政府组织举办对话会，除了听取相关民间组织的意见，亦提出本身的看法。”
周美芬指出，许多外籍太太在申请延长签证时，必须仰赖丈夫充当她们的担保人，对于一些不幸的外籍太太而言，这造成她们必须忍受丈夫的无理对待。
“尤其是已经生儿育女的外籍太太，由于不愿意在离婚时因为没有居留权而被迫与儿女分离，她们往往必须默默忍受这种恶劣遭遇。因此我们希望内政部能全面解决外籍配偶和孩子的居留权和公民权问题，尤其是保障已经生儿育女的外籍配偶，应该给予她们合法身份。”
周美芬也表示，在一些偏远乡区，由于父母的无知，没有为孩子办报生或来不及办或婚姻没有注册和配偶身份等问题，导致孩子无法申请身份证，内政部应该给他们一个合法身份，以保障他们的权益。
“此外，尚有许多独立前在本地出生或定居本地的50岁以上老年人，一直只持有红身份证而无法获得正式身份证。有关人士既已年迈，对国家也有贡献，而且也不会对社会带来任何伤害，应该向他们发出身份证。希望随着内政部长的宣布，他们的申请可见曙光。”
Showing posts with label Foreign Spouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Spouse. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wanita MCA: Home Ministry should expedite citizenship application
Press statement issued by Wanita MCA National Chairman Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun welcoming the announcement by Home Minister Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin bin Tun Hussein Onn of a decision on the fate of applicants for Malaysian citizenship
Wanita MCA welcomes the announcement by the Home Minister Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin bin Tun Hussein Onn to decide on the application for Malaysian citizenship for four categories i.e. applicants for permanent resident status; stateless children; those without birth certificates; and those without documents who are residing in Sabah and Sarawak. Wanita MCA urges the Home Minister to expedite the Ministry’s decision on granting Malaysian citizenship on humanitarian grounds.
Citizenship for “stateless” Malaysians
Wanita MCA is deeply concerned that many residents born in Malaya before our country’s independence in 1957 have still not been issued with a blue MyKad. There are also cases of red MyKad holders who were born in 1965 during the separation of Singapore and Malaysia, and owing to technicalities, have not been granted Malaysian citizenship. These residents who call Malaysia home are loyal, law-abiding people who pay taxes and contribute to the nation’s development.
Equally worrisome are the scores of indigenous children living in rural areas in the Peninsular or in the deep interiors of Sabah and Sarawak, and children born in estate plantations whose births have not been recorded and no birth certificate issued. The women’s wing of MCA strongly urges the National Registration Department to expedite the documentation of births and issuance of Malaysian citizenship to these very deserving cases.
Right of stay of foreign spouses
A forum on foreign spouses in Malaysia on 5 Jun 09 organised by Wanita MCA raised awareness on long-standing challenges faced by foreign spouses, both foreign wives and husbands and also children of a foreign parent.
Foreign wives/husbands encounter challenges in terms of social visit pass, spousal visa, permanent residency and citizenship. The process to renew spousal visa and, application for residency and citizenship is often cumbersome as the visa needs to be renewed annually with the mandatory presence of the sponsor of a foreign spouse which is usually the Malaysian female or male citizen.
The mandatory presence of the sponsor is particularly problematic with cases involving domestic violence as women are placed at the mercy of their husbands where they may have to continue enduring violence in their home for fear of being deported. Compounding this would be if they have children who are born in Malaysia and the foreign wife would fear having to be deported without her children. Or in situations where their husband disappears or in the case of divorces, and they face real risk of deportation without a sponsor. Thus, foreign wives may be stranded here in Malaysia for she may not be able to bring home her children due to financial constraints and her children need to stay in Malaysia since they are Malaysia citizens.
Wanita MCA also urges the Home Ministry to look into the predicament faced by foreign husbands. Current consideration of a foreign husband’s citizenship application is based on a case-to-case basis at the discretion of the Minister. However, this right to citizenship is not stipulated for any foreign husband of a Malaysian. On the grounds of gender equality, a foreign husband’s application for citizenship should be considered on an identical basis as that of a foreign wife.
Citizenship for children
Children who are born to Malaysian women and her foreign spouse are not entitled to citizenship. This is because Malaysian women are not accorded equal rights to confer citizenship to her children if they were to be born outside of Malaysia (UNHCR 2002; WCC statement Apr 2008 citing New Straits Times, 25 Apr 2008). Evidently there is double standard where a Malaysian father could confer citizenship to his child(ren) irrespective of the place of birth.
Similarly in the case where the marriage between a Malaysian citizen and his/ her spouse is not registered in Malaysia, their child(ren) when born would be recorded as “non citizen” in the birth certificate.
Wanita MCA is of the view that all children whose one parent is Malaysian is entitled to citizenship whether born in Malaysia or overseas. Children born prior to the registration of marriage should also have equal rights to citizenship.
By improving the quality of family life of Malaysian citizens, this is consistent with the “1 Malaysia” vision, which is inclusive of non-Malaysian spouses.
Wanita MCA welcomes the announcement by the Home Minister Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin bin Tun Hussein Onn to decide on the application for Malaysian citizenship for four categories i.e. applicants for permanent resident status; stateless children; those without birth certificates; and those without documents who are residing in Sabah and Sarawak. Wanita MCA urges the Home Minister to expedite the Ministry’s decision on granting Malaysian citizenship on humanitarian grounds.
Citizenship for “stateless” Malaysians
Wanita MCA is deeply concerned that many residents born in Malaya before our country’s independence in 1957 have still not been issued with a blue MyKad. There are also cases of red MyKad holders who were born in 1965 during the separation of Singapore and Malaysia, and owing to technicalities, have not been granted Malaysian citizenship. These residents who call Malaysia home are loyal, law-abiding people who pay taxes and contribute to the nation’s development.
Equally worrisome are the scores of indigenous children living in rural areas in the Peninsular or in the deep interiors of Sabah and Sarawak, and children born in estate plantations whose births have not been recorded and no birth certificate issued. The women’s wing of MCA strongly urges the National Registration Department to expedite the documentation of births and issuance of Malaysian citizenship to these very deserving cases.
Right of stay of foreign spouses
A forum on foreign spouses in Malaysia on 5 Jun 09 organised by Wanita MCA raised awareness on long-standing challenges faced by foreign spouses, both foreign wives and husbands and also children of a foreign parent.
Foreign wives/husbands encounter challenges in terms of social visit pass, spousal visa, permanent residency and citizenship. The process to renew spousal visa and, application for residency and citizenship is often cumbersome as the visa needs to be renewed annually with the mandatory presence of the sponsor of a foreign spouse which is usually the Malaysian female or male citizen.
The mandatory presence of the sponsor is particularly problematic with cases involving domestic violence as women are placed at the mercy of their husbands where they may have to continue enduring violence in their home for fear of being deported. Compounding this would be if they have children who are born in Malaysia and the foreign wife would fear having to be deported without her children. Or in situations where their husband disappears or in the case of divorces, and they face real risk of deportation without a sponsor. Thus, foreign wives may be stranded here in Malaysia for she may not be able to bring home her children due to financial constraints and her children need to stay in Malaysia since they are Malaysia citizens.
Wanita MCA also urges the Home Ministry to look into the predicament faced by foreign husbands. Current consideration of a foreign husband’s citizenship application is based on a case-to-case basis at the discretion of the Minister. However, this right to citizenship is not stipulated for any foreign husband of a Malaysian. On the grounds of gender equality, a foreign husband’s application for citizenship should be considered on an identical basis as that of a foreign wife.
Citizenship for children
Children who are born to Malaysian women and her foreign spouse are not entitled to citizenship. This is because Malaysian women are not accorded equal rights to confer citizenship to her children if they were to be born outside of Malaysia (UNHCR 2002; WCC statement Apr 2008 citing New Straits Times, 25 Apr 2008). Evidently there is double standard where a Malaysian father could confer citizenship to his child(ren) irrespective of the place of birth.
Similarly in the case where the marriage between a Malaysian citizen and his/ her spouse is not registered in Malaysia, their child(ren) when born would be recorded as “non citizen” in the birth certificate.
Wanita MCA is of the view that all children whose one parent is Malaysian is entitled to citizenship whether born in Malaysia or overseas. Children born prior to the registration of marriage should also have equal rights to citizenship.
By improving the quality of family life of Malaysian citizens, this is consistent with the “1 Malaysia” vision, which is inclusive of non-Malaysian spouses.
周美芬：應該給外籍配偶合法身份
星洲互動‧2009.07.10
（吉隆坡）馬華婦女組主席拿汀巴杜卡周美芬指出，內政部應全面解決外籍配偶和孩子的居留權和公民權事項，尤其保障已經生兒育女的外籍配偶，給予她們合法身份。
她今日（週五，7月10日）發表文告，歡迎內政部長拿督斯里希山慕丁宣佈政府將全面解決公民權問題時表示，部份外籍太太由於不願意離婚後因為沒有居留權而必須與孩子分開，以致必須忍受不幸的婚姻。
“也有外籍太太為了申請延長簽證，被迫仰丈夫鼻息，因為她們證件的申請必須獲得丈夫擔保。”
（吉隆坡）馬華婦女組主席拿汀巴杜卡周美芬指出，內政部應全面解決外籍配偶和孩子的居留權和公民權事項，尤其保障已經生兒育女的外籍配偶，給予她們合法身份。
她今日（週五，7月10日）發表文告，歡迎內政部長拿督斯里希山慕丁宣佈政府將全面解決公民權問題時表示，部份外籍太太由於不願意離婚後因為沒有居留權而必須與孩子分開，以致必須忍受不幸的婚姻。
“也有外籍太太為了申請延長簽證，被迫仰丈夫鼻息，因為她們證件的申請必須獲得丈夫擔保。”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)