Malaysian government and MIC’s new campaign to help ’stateless Indians’

KUALA LAMPUR - The Malaysian Indian congress along with the Malaysian government are finally addressing the longstanding issues bedevilling local Indians - the lack of official documents.

Nearly 40,000 Indians in the country still do not have basic documents such as birth certificates, identification cads and citizenship and have been denied privileges like jobs, education, retirement benefits and ownership of a home that other Malaysians enjoy as a matter of right.

Now, a nation wide ‘MyDafter’ campaign is likely to help the ’stateless’ Indians.

The eight-day campaign will begin on Saturday and it aims to register and process all Indians without basic official documents, according to The Star.

Under the campaign, 85 National Registration Department branch offices will assist Indians obtain official documents such as birth certificates and the MyKad, the compulsory identity document for Malaysian citizens.

Priority will be given to the students without birth certificates, children without official documents at welfare homes, and elderly people who waited for years for citizenship.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who heads the cabinet committee, and MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel are working together on this campaign.

“The campaign is a platform to help those with problems regarding their official documents. I hope they can finally find a solution,” said Dr Subramaniam.

The campaign is being promoted on Indian websites, blogs, television and radio news. Also, posters inviting registration from affected individuals have been put up at estates, coffee shops, entertainment premises, clubs and restaurants frequented by Indians. (ANI)