RESOLVING issues of stateless persons is time-consuming and cannot be dealt with within a short period of time as claimed by the opposition.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the opposition's promise of resolving backlogged stateless persons' cases within 100 days was not feasible.
"They (the opposition) claimed that there were 300,000 stateless cases and they promised they would resolve it within 100 days in power. That means 3,000 cases need to be resolved within a day.
"I had personally asked National Registration Department (NRD) officers whether this is possible, and they said no. This proves that they (the opposition) are making empty promises to the people."
Najib, who addressed a crowd of 2,000 before handing over identification documents to 120 "stateless" recipients at the Bandar Baru Sentul community hall yesterday, said the government had solved 219,485 cases, including 62,604 cases involving citizenship; 18,162 involving entry permits and 138,719 cases of late birth registration between 1997 and 2010.
Through the MyDaftar programme set up in 2011 especially for the Indian community, the prime minister said it had successfully processed 7,000 applications within a year.
"The second phase of this programme, carried out between Feb 18 and March 2, has received 7,600 applications and I believe they are being processed now."
Najib also commended the commitment of government officer, especially NRD and Immigration Department personnel, in resolving documentation issues.
He also said there were officers from the two departments who worked beyond their regular hours to assist those who needed service in remote areas.
"This has never been done in any other country. The purpose of this approach is for the government agencies to be more people- friendly... where they work from 8.30am to 10pm every day, including on weekends," he said referring to the extended working hours at the government's two Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) in Malacca and Pudu Sentral.
The UTCs each houses 34 government departments and commercial offices, a youth development and activity centre, a local products sales area and an activity centre for non-governmental organisations.
Najib said the extended hours and the government officers going the extra mile in servicing those in remote areas was "commendable".
"This is a commendable approach as we don't need to wait for them to come to Putrajaya or the (government) offices. We need to go to the ground and reach out to them.
"It doesn't matter if they are in the estates or Orang Asli villages, remote areas or at longhouses in Sabah and Sarawak. Without their efforts, all these would not have materialised."
Najib also called for the Barisan Nasional-led government be voted back into power.
"We will go back to Putrajaya because our work is not done and there's more work that needs to be perfected. Trust me, there will be a big change in Malaysia where all citizens are well taken care of."
MIC deputy president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, who was present, said 6,590 of the 9,500 applications for birth certificates and citizenship last year had been resolved.
"Out of the 4,000 applications received this year alone, 1,500 involved Indians."
Dr Subramaniam also hailed Najib as the "star of hope" for his many contributions to the Indian community.
"The transformation programmes for the Indian community have just begun. The four years were not enough," he said, referring to Najib's premiership.
Grace Josephine, 42, who was one of the permanent resident (PR) recipients, said it was an honour to receive the PR status from the prime minister himself.
Married to Malaysian Gerard Netto, 47, Grace, who has two children who are Malaysian citizens, said she had been waiting for 15 years for the PR status.
"I am thankful and grateful to the government and the prime minister. No more queuing up at the Immigration office every year."
Another recipient C. Marriaye, 73, said it was the end of her 10-year wait for an identity card (IC).
"I have a birth certificate but was not given an IC. I'm happy I have one today," said Marriaye from Banting, Selangor.
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