KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today it received 415 complaints in Sabah last year, almost a third of which were due to issues regarding citizenship registrations.
During the official launch of its 2019 official report today, Suhakam commissioner Datuk Godfrey Joitol said only about 30 per cent of the 294 citizenship-related complaints in the state were solved, as the laws governing such matters were above the jurisdiction of the commission.
“It is difficult to solve these issues as Suhakam does not have the authority to issue identity cards, birth certificates and so on,” he said during the conference conducted online.
However, Suhakam said the high number of complaints in Sabah showed that citizens are increasingly aware of their rights.
The organisation also pledged to look further into the issue, starting with relevant research and data collection.
In total, Suhakam received 1,154 complaints in 2019. Of the number, 298 were lodged at its Kuala Lumpur office, 415 complaints were received at its Sabah office, and 70 complaints came to its Sarawak office.
Of all the complaints issued, the Kuala Lumpur office resolved 142, while the Sabah office resolved 62, and the Sarawak office resolved 18. This adds up to a total of 222 complaints solved.
A further 371 complaints were deemed to be beyond Suhakam’s jurisdiction, while the remainder are still under investigation.
In the Peninsular Malaysia, the most common complaints received were the 61 cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile and 45 cases of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Meanwhile, Sarawak faced similar problems with its Bornean neighbour, with 30 complaints regarding “right to nationality”.
Issues regarding citizenship status have plagued Sabah and Sarawak for decades, where a high number of undocumented migrants are present. The states are in close proximity with the Philippines and Indonesia.
Rural conditions in the states also serve to make the problem worse where some locals do not have the means of transportation to travel to registration offices in cities, far away from their villages.
In Malaysia, undocumented people have little access to basic necessities such as schooling, medical care and safe work.
