KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — A Sarawak lawmaker asked the government to explain alleged delays in granting citizenship requests by the state’s natives, after claiming that foreigners appeared able to secure this quicker than undocumented Malaysians.
Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin raised the matter when debating the royal address today, saying there were 75,000 such applicants in his state alone.
“Why is this process taking so long? Why is it that, in Sarawak, a Lebanese national can be given citizenship so fast?” he asked.
The remark appeared to be a veiled reference to the wife of Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Mongin also extended his allegation to those from the Ponogoro regency in East Java, in another veiled reference to former home minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
This prompted Zahid to respond, after raising a point of order with the Speaker.
“I was born in Sungai Nipah Darat, Bagan Datuk, Perak,” Zahid said to laughter from lawmakers.
When some contended that the reference was not intended for him, Zahid accepted the reasoning and sat down.
