450,000 stateless Indians in Malaysia, fact or fiction?

Today it is generally taken for granted that there are good things that people are entitled to have and bad things that they can expect or hope to avoid. A wide, and ever-widening, range of such entitlements and immunities are supposed to belong to everyone, everywhere and at all times, purely as a consequence of our humanity (i.e. of the dignity and respect that are due to us as human beings).Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Article 15 of the United Nations ‘Universal Declaration on Human Rights’ gives everybody the right to a nationality: no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality nor denied the right to change nationality. So any act by a nation of depriving a nationality to her inhabitants, that too up to 4th or 5th generation born must be regarded as a perpetual humanitarian crime.

Hindraf has on many occasions stated that there is an estimated 450,000 Malaysian- born Indians that have been rendered stateless as they have been denied citizenship status by the Malaysian government.
According to the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2010, there are 2,320,779 non-Malaysian citizens residing in Malaysia. However the general perception that is given is that this huge number consists of nothing but foreign workers like from Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc. In reality it is suspected that this figure of 2.3 million also includes a large number of Malaysian-born but stateless Indians.

During a series of focused group discussions held Aug 24-26, 2009 at Putrajaya with the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department to review the Ninth Malaysia Plan period and provide recommendations for the Tenth Malaysia Plan, certain participants expressed tremendous distrust towards the official figures presented, particularly those on Malaysian Indians.

An outline paper was presented to the Economic Planning Unit in a special meeting chaired by EPU deputy director-general Mat Noor Nawi on Dec 24, 2009 highlighting citizenship documentation of the Malaysian Indians.

It was stated in the paper that there were no proper records of the cases and assistance seems extended to these Indians to be on an ad hoc basis. It was suggested that the government should undertake a comprehensive survey and document all the Malaysian Indian cases and analyse the root causes for this situation.

It was also suggested to enlist the cooperation of the National Registration Department whereby a focal point is established at the national and state levels, and to also undertake a quarterly review of the situation in order to ensure that between 2010 and 2011, at least 75 percent of the cases could be resolved.

It is already 2012 now and I’m afraid the stateless Indian numbers are still estimated to exceed 450,000.

To prove if this number is indeed fact or to discount it as fiction, one has to trace back to old records and reports of the population census of Malaysia.

Following the data trail
The United Nations had declared 1974 as World Population Year and as such the organization initiated within this framework the preparation of a series of monographs on the past, present and future population trends in various countries.

The Committee for International Co-ordination on National Research (Cicred) was given the responsibility of coordinating the preparation of the monographs. Malaysia submitted its report in December, 1975 which was edited by R. Chander, the chief statistician in the country’s Census and Demographic Division.

In the preface of this report Chander states “the presentation of past, present and future trends in Malaysia in this volume, form a useful synthesis of much of the knowledge accumulated by official censuses. Its value is enhanced by the effort made to demonstrate the relevance of population data for social planning”.

According to Cicred, each collaborating national institutional was commissioned a national monograph on the main dimensions of population growth and composition which serve today as a benchmark for studying demographic change in these countries over the last decades.
In short this report was done in a very comprehensive manner and would have been conducted very diligently. Its figures could represent an unbiased clearer picture of the Malaysian population today.

PROJECTED POPULATION BY COMMUNITY
The future population projection of Malaysia was calculated for each community for the years between 1970 and 1990. It was done based on several established standard assumptions and giving four different projections for each community based on:

Projection A: Fertility constant, 1970-1990.

Projection B: Fertility decline 10%, 1970-1990.

Projection C: Fertility decline 20%, 1970-1990.

Projection D: Fertility decline 30%, 1970-1990.

Based on these four different types of projections, the future population projection of the three main ethnic communities in Malaysia was estimated.

For 1990, the Malay community was estimated to number anywhere between 8,006,849 and 8,985,925.

According to Malaysian’s actual population census carried out in 1991, the Malays numbered 8,521,906. This is well within the estimated range projected by the 1975 reported prepared by Chandler and submitted to Cicred.

The Chinese community was estimated to number anywhere between 4,512,199 and 5,487,349. The Malaysian population census of 1991 gave the figure of 4,623,882. Again well within the estimated range.

The Indian community was estimated to number anywhere between 1,491,949 and 1,660,575. The official census of 1991 counted 1,316,086 Indians. This is very much lower than the estimated range.
Meaning the Indian community was around 250,000-300,000 persons less than the estimated number projected by the chief statistician of Malaysia in 1975. How is that so when he was well on the mark on the estimates of the Malay and Chinese communities?

Chandler was way off mark on the 1990 estimate of the Indian community reported to the United Nations committee. Furthermore the estimate given was for the year 1990 but the official population census carried out a good year after that, in 1991. (Malaysia’s population census is conducted once very 10 years – 1970, 1980 1991, 2000 and 2010.)

Despite the external migration of the Chinese community which was far greater compared with the Indian community, Chandler had still been on target with his projection of the ethnic Chinese population numbers in Malaysia. His projection on the ethnic Indian population figure should by right have been accurate yet the 1991 census numbers fell short notwithstanding the fact that the Indian fertility level was far higher than the Chinese’s.

The answer to this anomaly is very simple.

As of 1991, there were at least 250,000 to 300,000 ethnic Indians who had been denied citizenship status in Malaysia for whatever reasons. That was in 1991. Today after 21 years, that number must surely be more than 450,000 at the very least.

Just try asking any Malaysian Indian that you meet whether they know of anyone among their friends
or relatives who do not possess valid citizenship documents? Chances are, more often than not, their answer will be ‘Yes’. The numbers are that staggering!

At least once a week you will come across articles in the Tamil newspapers about an Indian family or individuals here and there who do not have MyKad and about Indian children who are unable to attend primary school because they have no birth certificate, etc.

Which political party or NGO is truly fighting for these stateless Malaysian Indians?

Which elected representative has brought this matter to parliament or requested for a Royal Commission on this humanitarian crime on innocent, poor people? What have you as an individual done about this?

Written by Dr Paraman Subramaniam

Instant citizenships for votes: How low can the BN go?

So, Malaysians want freedom? Freedom from an oppressive government which has taken us for a ride all these years? So, do Malaysians want change, a more progressive society, meritocracy, social freedoms, total democracy, freedom of expression and be 1st class citizens? Do we want unity, racial blindness, justice and a corrupt free government? Sorry, baby! Fat hopes and dream on. Yes, you heard me. Dream on and fat hopes!

You know why it is not going to happen. Not for a thousand years, at least? Because Malaysians are too complacent to make the change. So what are we waiting for? Christmas?

The recent evidence uncovered by PAS shows a BN plot to stuff the electoral rolls with foreigners who have been given instant citizenship. This itself warns us that BN is not going to take the General Election for granted. Due to all their fumbling and flip flops, Najib with Rosmah tagging sheepishly behind, have been given clear signals that their time is almost up. This is why they are trying to make sure they win by a huge margin so that their enemies in UMNO cannot unseat them.

This new evidence has undoubtedly caused a commotion amongst the people, who are shocked at the BN's audacity. Pakatan Rakyat is calling for an emergency parliamentary sitting to probe the issue of non-citizens being registered as voters by the Election Commission. Some say it may be the tip of the iceberg. As usual, the EC says nothing suspicious is going on. But when the government says that nothing is going on, it means that something is going on!

Bolehland voting
The Election Commission is registering every Tom, Dick and Harry who is eligible to vote. Doesn’t matter whether they are red or yellow, black or white, as long as they hold a Mykad, then they are welcome to vote. Remember, this Malaysia. There is nothing much that we can do about it. Right?

Ahhh...caught you there. Didn't I say Malaysians are too complacent and BN will get back two-thirds majority in Parliament because the people are simply to lazy to bother?

Malaysia is doomed to the dogs. Chinese and Indians, book your tickets 'home'. Instead, there will be more 'Bumiputras' arriving at our Malay shores. Current Bumis have to share the cake with the rest of the new ones. The non-Bumis who are willing to stay can of course keep the scraps. It is the least we can do, give you all the crumbs, so enjoy while we can still spare them!

Are the govt numbers reliable?
The government is saying that 2 million illegal immigrants will be registered. But when has the government been truthful with figures? Who knows what the actual number is?

Also, do not be mistaken. The current registration exercise is not to give the foreigners a Malaysian citizenship. It is merely an Amnesty to register them, so that we can track their movements and allow them to legally work in this country for a certain period. After this period, we will deport them when their contracts are finished. So please do not panic, so goes the mantra from Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

But in the first place, what has our Immigration department been doing all this while that we are unable to detect 2 million foreigners entering this country? Did these immigrants employ stealth technology that our country’s defences are unable to detect? Is that the reason why it is so important for us to procure submarines and jetfighter technology to guard our defenceless shores?

Secondly, what is is to prevent these 'legalised' workers from running off when their contracts are due so as to escape deportation? This is the known pattern in other countries with high illegal foreign workforce. So the third issue remains, why now? Why suddenly Amnesty when GE-13 is at our doorstep knowing that this is a problem that will keep recurring through the years and there is no solution except a long-term plan?

Malays hit most, will they be forced to compete with the foreign workers?
Then, there is the worry of whether there will be enough jobs for us and for our children? And the most affected are the Malays. Now do you understand why PAS and PKR are screaming and shouting about it!

Malays must ask the BN government, won't they need to compete with the foreign workers for better pay now? Is Malaysia so economically prosperous that we can absorb another 2 million workers? Yet at the same time, BN is so ready to chase away the rich Chinese and Indians who have lived with us for decades and even centuries. Some are so fed up they take their assets overseas in case extremists like Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa compound their property. What is UMNO really doing? Have the UMNO members thought about it? Are they protecting the Malays or their own elite leaders?

Later, when the law is passed for a minimum salary scale, every legal immigrant will be able to enjoy higher pay. If they send back RM500 a month home, that will be about RM1billion capital flight each month or RM12 billion a year. Does that make economic sense? Can any economist out there please comment?

Already RM888billion has gone missing, although that was for corruption. This is foreign repatriation of salaries earned by foreign workers and should be covered by the higher GDP or higher economic activity that the workers bring in.

The real problem is when they have no jobs and the current set of corrupt government official keep siphoning funds out of Malaysia - it is this double whammy that may kill us all.

Push the PANIC button, NOW
So if there is just a grain of truth that these workers will be registered to vote in the next election, it is already time to push the panic button. Immediately.

The thing is, what do we do? How do we help ourselves? Has the Pakatan Rakyat any back-up plan to counter this offensive, or are they just going to sit back and complain about the sad state of affairs? What about Bersih? Yes, it has been outlawed. But the fight to press for clean elections has not and cannot be outlawed. So first thing first, regroup so that Malaysians have a focal point to turn to. Then strategise.

Some believe that the new allegations are a blessing in disguise. If Prime Minister Najib Razak does not react responsibly, then it may trigger the Tsunami we have been waiting for, as more Malaysians become disillusioned with the current regime’s treasonous tactics to stay in power.






Iskandar Dzulkarnain
Malaysia Chronicle