LETTERS: It is gratifying to note that Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is prepared to engage with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others with regard to constitutional amendments being considered by the government and the issue of citizenship.
This is a step in the right direction. Listening to another point of view is always a sure and judicious way of arriving at conclusions or decisions regarding any issue, however controversial it may initially seem to be.
And it also good news that the issue of citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers has been settled.
Every child has the inherent right to a nationality, as recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
When exercised, such a right provides stateless children their fundamental rights and dignity.
Depriving them of this right will leave them vulnerable to exploitation, discrimination and exclusion from basic amenities like education and healthcare.
Stateless children are also vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking, forced labour and child marriage.
Legal documentation serves as a crucial safeguard against such abuses.
In this light, we hope the home minister will lend a sympathetic ear to the pleas of thousands of children who are stateless.
Most of them, though born here, are without proper documentation to apply for citizenship.
And so, it behoves the government to handle their cases with empathy, sympathy and compassion.
It is not their fault that the children are stateless. We should consider them as human assets for the country, not as liabilities and treat them accordingly.
In this light, the cabinet should seriously reconsider some amendments that it has agreed to.
This includes removing some sections of the Second Schedule of the Constitution; removing the right of foundlings, including abandoned children to citizenship.
Here is where we need compassion and humanitarian considerations.
Treating stateless children with compassion is not just a matter of morality. It is a fundamental responsibility of society.
The children live in constant fear of being detained or deported. It's a harrowing existence that no children should ever have to endure.
Society is judged by how it treats its weakest members. Governments have a duty to protect the rights of all children within the nation's borders, regardless of nationality.
So let us stand together in solidarity with stateless children, offering them compassion, comfort and support that they so desperately need and deserve.
TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times