'Solving stateless cases takes time'

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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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (second from left), MIC deputy president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam (left) and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (third from left) sharing a light moment during a handing over of permanent resident status document to a recipient at a ceremony in Bandar Baru Sentul yesterday. Pic by Syarafiq Abdul Samad

Chinese fall out with Kedah Pas

WANING SUPPORT: Ruling against CNY women performers to blame, says club

ALOR STAR: STATE Pas Supporters' Club chairman Tan Weng Fatt said support from the Chinese community for the Pakatan Rakyat state government had waned after it imposed a no-woman performers' ruling in the last Chinese New Year celebration.

He said members of the community felt betrayed when the Pas-led state government imposed the unprecedented move.

"It was a very bad move. All was well and then, out of the blue, the state exco member in-charge announced the ruling.

"The community was puzzled and very angry when the state government said it would not rescind the ruling," he said when asked on the Chinese community's support for the state government in the light of the 13th general election. Prior to the ruling, support for the state government from the community was very good.

"But it is not very good now. Our club had given the Pas-led state government a 70 per cent chance to be returned to power.

"Now, it has been reduced to about 50 per cent."

He said although the state government subsequently rescinded the ruling, the damage done was irreparable.

"The move was uncalled for and the feelings of the Chinese community have been hurt."

He said the state government needed to work harder to win back the hearts and minds of the Chinese community.

"There are just endless problems in Pakatan Rakyat in Kedah."

The internal struggle in Kedah Pas, which led to an attempt to overthrow Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak two years ago, still haunts the people, especially the Chinese community.

"The Pas-led state government had impressed the people when they booted out Kedah Barisan Nasional but it appears that the Pakatan government is now involved in a power struggle."

Election Commission workers in the Kuala Kedah parliamentary constituency Ahmad Hulmi Hassan (left) and Fauzi Bahari inspecting ballot boxes to be used for the 13th General Election at the Kota Star district office store. Pic by Lim Poh Chin

'Anwar doesn't feel secure in Permatang Pauh'

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak questioned opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's loyalty towards his constituents after the latter's decision to contest in Perak instead of defending his seat in Permatang Pauh.

Taking a swipe at Anwar's move to contest for an unspecified parliamentary seat in the silver state, Najib said a politician should remain loyal to his supporters instead of seeking shelter in other places.

Najib also implied that the transition might be prompted by the Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader's inability to rally support from his constituents in Permatang Pauh.

"I don't think he is feeling very secure in Permatang Pauh because he has abandoned them (the constituents) for so long since he entered politics. As for me, I would never dream of leaving (my constituency) Pekan.

"I would like to go on record as saying that I will live and die in Pekan, politically speaking," said Najib at a press conference after chairing Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting yesterday.

To a question on Anwar's confidence in making inroads into Sabah, Najib said people should realise that if Anwar could abandon his supporters in Permatang Pauh, the same fate could befall others in the future.

"It is the loyalty... of the people who stood by you, which matters in politics. It is about principle... and it is not just about winning."

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said Anwar's presence in Perak would have little or no effect over the state, and the election as a whole.

Speaking at a press conference after attending the Statistics Department's Outstanding Service Award ceremony at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre in Putrajaya yesterday, Nor dismissed Anwar's move as a "statistically insignificant" matter.

Nor said Malaysia had become a country to be reckoned with in the region due to the roles played by the country's leadership, starting from the era of Tunku Abdul Rahman to Najib's administration.

He said this showed that since gaining independence, the country's leaders had a clear direction to ensure the country's progress was on track.

"In some cases, we are far ahead of other countries that achieved independence at the same time.

"Our leadership is also focused on their responsibilities and roles to improve the living standards of the people by 2020. I am confident we can achieve that vision."

Anwar penuh dengan muslihat dan tipu helah.Bn harus waspada.

PAS to allow its non-Malay supporters to contest on party's ticket

PAS will allow non-Malay candidates from its Supporters Club or Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS (DHPP) to contest on the party's ticket in the upcoming 13th general election, according to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

"The candidates from the DHPP are from the Chinese, Indian and Iban communities," he told a paspress conference at his residence in Rusila, here, yesterday.

He said these candidates would be using the quota of 76 parliamentary seats to be contested by PAS, the number having been jointly agreed upon by the partners in the opposition pact.

Hadi said the candidates from the DHPP and the party's Dewan Muslimat (women's wing) would be contesting in mixed-race constituencies in view of the DHPP's positive response towards PAS.

The Marang member of parliament also said that if additional seats were given by its allies in the pact for PAS to contest, it was prepared to provide the candidates.

Hadi said the 76 parliamentary seats allocated to PAS, were 10 more than the number it contested in the last general election in 2008, in which it won 24 seats.

He said with candidates from the DHPP contesting, he was confident that the number of votes received by PAS from non-Malay voters would be a surprise and would have an impact on the outcome of the 13th general election.

The party also hoped that their candidacy would result in a wave of young voters backing the opposition, thus helping it capture some targeted states, he added.

Asked which seat he would be contesting, Hadi declined to reveal but said the announcement of candidates would be made soon.

Meanwhile, Hadi also said that PAS was willing to offer DAP candidates the use of its symbol if DAP is deregistered by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

He said the move was made as the sharing of logo had happened before with the opposition parties in Sabah dan Sarawak, such as using the PKR logo.

"As reported by the media, action might be taken against DAP over its central executive committee election. If DAP is then not allowed to use its symbol (rocket), we are prepared to offer the use of the PAS symbol, he added.

Pas semakin terdesak dan makin tersepit.

‘No’ to Nurul Izzah

Former Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Datuk Seri Anwar has lost her bid to get the Election Commission (EC) to strike out dubious voters names from the electoral roll of the constituency.

Her application was dismissed by Justice Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam in chambers today.

Federal counsel Amarjeet Singh told reporters later the judge ruled that the court has no jurisdiction over electoral rolls by virtue of section 9A of the Election Act 1958.

(Section 9A of the EC states that the certified or re-certified electoral roll is final, binding and not to be questioned or appealed against or reviewed, quashed or set aside by any court).

Nurul Izzah, 33, and Kadir Sultan Abd Majid, 63, a registered voter in Lembah Pantai constituency, filed the application for judicial review on March 22 against the chief registrar, the EC, director-general of National Registration Department and government of Malaysia.

In the application, Nurul Izzah and Kadir sought an order declaring as wrong and illegal the failure, refusal and neglect of the chief registrar of the EC to cancel names from the principal electoral roll of Lembah Pantai for the year 2011 and supplementary electoral roll of Lembah Pantai for the second quarter of 2012.

They sought a certiorari order and a mandamus order to compel the respondents to cancel the names on the two electoral rolls and to hold an inquiry and update the addresses of the voters.

In the application, Nurul Izzah stated that her employees had, on checking the electoral rolls, found names of people who had died, or who no longer resided in the constituency, and names of people registered under incomplete or non-existent addresses.