Sunday August 2, 2009
Anifah to seek solution for ‘stateless’
By CHOI TUCK WO
LONDON: Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman has pledged to seek the best solution for more than 500 “stateless” Malaysian British Overseas Citizens (BOCs) in Britain.
He added that renouncing their Malaysian citizenship did not mean they were “less patriotic” — as they could have been trying to find better jobs and better living condition for themselves and their children.
Anifah said he would take up the matter with Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
Describing their plight as “unfortunate,” he said they had never planned to become stateless when they left Malaysia to seek a better life in Britain.
“It is up to the (Home) minister whether he wants to bring it up in Cabinet,” he told The Star after holding a dialogue with the Malaysian community at the Malaysian High Commission on Friday.
Help us: Malaysian British Overseas Citizens (BOCs) and campaign supporters holding banners during their peaceful march to the Home Office in central London. The minister was answering a question by a London Chinese Information and Advice Centre’s (CIAC) Malaysian chairman, councillor Edmond Yeo on the predicament of the BOCs.
Most of the BOCs are from Penang and Malacca who had been misled into giving up their Malaysian citizenship, but now find themselves stateless as they are not entitled to British nationality.
They had acquired BOC status by virtue of being born in the two former British colonies before 1983 following an amendment to the British Nationality Act, which created a residual BOC category.
Anifah said he had asked Yeo to write to him through the High Commission so that he could get a better picture of the situation.
“We have to address the issue. We can’t say it is their malady just because they have renounced their Malaysian citizenship,” he added.
However, Anifah made it clear that Malaysia did not recognise dual nationality under the Federal Constitution.
Earlier, the minister told the Malaysian community that although many of them had lived in Britain for some time, it did not mean they were “less Malaysian or loved the country less.”
He said despite Britain having more to offer, those who come home and see the durian trees would say — “thank God that I’m a Malaysian.”
Anifah added that he had visited many countries but nothing could compare with Malaysia, asking “where at 3am that you can still get kuay teow and teh tarik?”
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