BUKIT JALIL: The government is looking for ways to solve issues of stateless detainees at immigration depots, with some having been incarcerated for up to nine years.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail cited cases of individuals from the Philippines and the United States whose embassies did not recognise them as citizens after due diligence by the respective enforcement agencies.
He said global human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) should instead collaborate with the government to address issues faced by detainees who have been living in immigration depots for years.
"In this issue, HRW should help us find solutions and mitigate them.
"We are still giving time to the embassies to perform their due diligence.
"We are ready to cooperate because some detainees have been here for a long time," he told reporters after handing out Hari Raya clothes to children at the Bukit Jalil Immigration depot.
Some have been here for three, eight, and even nine years, and they are being supported by our taxpayers' money, he said.
He said HRW should focus on protecting the rights of these individuals who have been detained for years.
"They should assist them so we can manage their situation better."
He said some of the detainees were also born in Malaysia but lost their identity.
"We will see if we can invoke Article 19 of the Federal Constitution to issue citizenship by naturalisation.
"We will deal with it on a case by case basis," he said.
Saifuddin however kept mum about the total number of stateless detainees in the country.