PUTRAJAYA, Sept 28 — The Home Ministry today denied the allegations posted by the owner of Twitter account @TengkuRajaAlamShah claiming that 200,000 people have been granted citizenship by pledging loyalty to the Pakatan Harapan government.
The ministry, in a statement today, said the allegations were completely untrue and asked the owner of the twitter account to come forward to prove his claim was valid and not mere baseless allegations.
“For the period of May 2018 to Sept 15, 2019, a total of 19,788 citizenship applications were received by the National Registration Department (NRD) from various races, and of the total, only 4,422 have been granted Malaysian citizenship,” the statement said.
The ministry also asserted that only those who met the requirements and submitted complete documents were eligible to apply for citizenship.
“Application for citizenship is subject to provisions under the Federal Constitution, namely, Article 15 (1) of the Federal Constitution — Wife of a Malaysian citizen; Article 15 (2) — under 21 child of a Malaysian citizen; Article 15 A — application to register as a Malaysian citizen by those aged below 21 under special circumstances.
In addition, the ministry said, the provisions also involved those applying under Article 16 — a person aged 18 years and above, who was born in the federation before Independence Day; and Article 19 (1) — application for Malaysian citizenship by naturalisation and permanent residency.
“It is clear that granting of citizenship is subject to the provisions of the Federal Constitution and also the highest award to be granted by the government and is not be arbitrarily awarded,” it said.
The ministry urged the people to stop disseminating false information to prevent public confusion and anxiety.
“The government will not compromise on the spread of fake news and legal action will be taken against those who spread fake news and information,” it said. — bernama
