KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s citizenship system is so fundamentally flawed that only a complete dismantling and rebuild can resolve its issues, according to child rights advocate Sharmila Sekaran, who likened it to “a house infested with termites.”
In an appearance on the Scoop Insight podcast, Sharmila outlined how years of arbitrary decisions, missing procedures, and unchecked impunity among civil servants had transformed citizenship into “a privilege for the few,” leaving thousands of stateless Malaysians in a perpetual state of uncertainty.
“We have civil servants who think they are untouchable — who ignore court orders, who act with impunity. When that happens, you know the system is broken,” she said.
“You can’t patch this up. You have to tear the house down and rebuild it.”
Her remarks followed numerous reports of officers from the National Registration Department (NRD) rejecting citizenship applications without explanation, and in some cases, threatening to revoke previously granted approvals. Activists claim these incidents highlight how an unaccountable bureaucracy has eroded public trust in government institutions.
Wong Kukui, a citizenship reform advocate who was stateless until two years ago, emphasised that the problem persists across administrations. “The issue is the same — lack of transparency, no clear SOP. Even after constitutional amendments, the promised SOP from the Home Ministry never came,” he said.
Wong further accused some officers of acting like “little Napoleons,” rejecting applicants for minor reasons.
“They don’t have the power to reject, only to guide. But the SOP is not public, so they do as they please,” he added.
Sharmila warned that Malaysia risked becoming “a failing nation” if impunity and inconsistency persisted.
She noted that while Sarawak had made progress with stronger governance, Peninsular Malaysia was at risk of being “left behind in the dregs.”
Wong concluded with a call for collaboration. “We need a clear, humane SOP. We need the government to work with civil society, not against it. This issue has existed since the BN era — it’s time to fix it for real,” he said. – October 13, 2025