 |
| Source: Abella & Duncanes, 2009 http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com |
A
parliamentary committee should be immediately set up to conduct an impartial
inquiry into the awards of PR and citizenship. On what basis are some
foreign workers being given PR or citizenship, wonders The Discontented.
For years now, foreign spouses have been voicing out their
grievances about the Immigration Department dragging their feet in giving them
PR. Many professional spouses were forced to leave the country, to where they
can enjoy the right to reside and employment without restrictions.
Those of us spouses still in the country had given up hope
and could only expect PR posthumously (ie by being buried in this country!).
Only recently under the present Home Minister and thanks to
him, the backlog of PR applications has been cleared; many who have lived in
the country for decades were finally given PR. As per a media release ,all PR
applications submitted until 2009 have been cleared.
Some who have been visiting the Immigration Department at
Putrajaya on a fairly regular basis, have noticed that since 2009, there has
been a large number of Indonesian male workers who are in their 40s at the
counter for Permit Masuk – to be specific counter 2 and counter 3 receiving and
submitting their documents. But it is highly unlikely that these men fall under
any of the categories for PR as provided by Immigration,.
The Immigration website clearly indicates the ways in which
one can get Permanent Residency Status in Malaysia, as per the Immigration Act
and Regulations 1959/63
1. Individual
Investor with minimum US$2m Fixed Deposit in Malaysia (High Net Worth
Individual)
2. Expert
(Highly Talented and High Skilled Individual)
3. Professional
4. Spouse of
Malaysian Citizen
5. Application
for Permanent Resident Through Point-Based System
Spouses have to be accompanied by their Malaysian spouses, so
one can easily recognise this category of persons submitting documents for PR.
As recent as July 2011, on a particular visit and within a
three-hour duration at immigration, it was noticed that there were around five
spouses of various nationalities waiting. And at least 20-25 such persons,
Indonesian male workers within the age group of 35-45, were present; only two
of them were over the age of 50 years and looked like they could have been in
the country for five years and above.
Ask some of the contractors in the housing or building
Industry, they will tell you that many of their Indonesian workers are
allegedly getting PR. Some of them have not resided in the country for more
than three years; it is known that some of them have blue ICs.
Oh, just for information, foreign spouses with Malaysian
Families are eligible to apply for PR, after they have been on five, one-year
long-term social pass, after about 7 years. Then it depends on who is approving
the PR; under the previous Home Minister, some spouses residing in the country
even up to 40 years were waiting for their PR.
Then again, spouses with Malaysian children who are widowed
or in estranged marriages get their PR applications withdrawn. They are
required to have a sponsor to secure a visa to live in the country,
perpetuating a situation of dependency. This pass does not allow the person to
be employed, how then are they supposed to earn a living to support themselves
and their families in dignity?
On the other end of the spectrum, if these workers are being
given PR, they will have the right to reside and be employed and though PR does
not allow voting rights, who knows how citizenship has been fast tracked and
these people perhaps even vote for the political masters who have given them PR
and Citizenship. An informal chat with some officers revealed that these people
allegedly come with political recommendations.
Perhaps all this needs verification and a Parliamentary
Committee should be immediately called to conduct an impartial inquiry and an
audit as to the number of PR and citizenships awarded, their gender,
nationality and under which category they come under. On what basis are these
workers being given PR or citizenship?
Source : Aliran
Online Booking Hotel
EmpireMoney
No comments:
Post a Comment