Lilian Budianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Some 50,000 Indonesian permanent residents in Malaysia are at risk of becoming "stateless" because they had never reported to the Indonesian Embassy, the ministry of human rights and justice said here Monday.
The laws around nationality say Indonesian citizens are required to report to the Indonesian Embassy in the foreign country where they are living.
The law says if they fail to do this five years in a row, they will lose their Indonesian citizenship.
But an amendment of the law, endorsed in 2006, says Indonesian citizens can maintain their original nationality if they have yet to obtain another -- regardless of whether they have checked in with the Indonesian Embassy in their country of residence.
The revised law is not retroactive, however, so those staying abroad prior to 2006 and who have never reported their presence in those countries to the Indonesian Embassy will automatically lose their Indonesian citizenship.
Director general for state administrative affairs at the ministry, Aidir Amin Daud, said he did not have information on how many of the 50,000 Indonesians who are permanent residents in Malaysia had actually become Malaysian citizens.
"I guess a small number of the 50,000 permanent residents in Malaysia have obtained Malaysian nationality," he said.
"I have no exact number.
"Our concern is migrants without either nationalities because it means they are stateless."
He said the ministry would provide the 50,000 permanent residents in Malaysia an opportunity to restore their Indonesian citizenship if they did not yet hold Malaysian nationality status.
"They can come to our representative offices in Malaysia to obtain a statement to say they are still Indonesian," he said.
Since 2006, the ministry has provided statements of nationality to some 60,000 Indonesian permanent residents, most of whom have lived in the neighboring country for several decades.
In late 2006, Indonesian permanent residents without any statement of nationality risked being deported because the Malaysian government required them to have complete immigration documents.
These permanent residents often fail to renew their Indonesian immigration documents, believing if they already have Malaysian permanent resident status, they will no longer need their Indonesian immigration documents.
The Malaysian government later eased its regulations and allowed those without the statements to extend their stay in the country.
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Malaysian authorities are known to be strict with foreigners not holding proper immigration documents. This year alone, approximately 10,000 Indonesian workers have already been deported.
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