Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)

The concern for stateless/undocumented children was first voiced by Tenaganita, a non-governmental organisation at a convention in 2002, when it noticed that thousands of children were abandoned during a mass deportation of foreigners from Sabah. “We were observing the exercise especially in places such as Nunukan in Indonesia, and Tawau in Sabah.

“We knew then that the situation would be similar in other places in the State,” said Aegile Fernandez, Tenaganita’s project coordinator.

Last year, the issue was again raised and picked up by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant (APMM).

“It was recommended that Tenaganita went back to these places around Sabah on a fact-finding mission and look deeper into the problem,” said Aegile who is leading a four-man team on a two-week

fact-finding mission.

The mission started on July 7, and covered places such as Kampung Rawa-rawa, Sri Aman, Kurnia Jaya, Hilltop and markets in Tawau; Kampung Lupak Meluas, Kampung Foris and Kampung Goodview in Sandakan; and Keningau near Kota Kinabalu.

The goal, she explained, was to look at the whole issue of stateless/ undocumented children, the problems they were facing, why their births were not registered and why they were not in schools,” she said.

A questionnaire to gauge the basic condition of these children were brought along on the trip that covered about eight villages and settlements.

“We met thousands of stateless people especially children. At some venues, we had to divide them – adults, teenagers and children – into separate groups.

“Then we filled up the forms after listening to their stories,” said Aegile.

The mission, she said, will end with a public forum-cum-question session where the team will ask the audience for their opinions of the stateless children.

“We need to get an idea of what Sabahans themselves feel about the issue. All information will be compiled and analysed.

“A report will then be presented at a conference to be held in September in Kota Kinabalu which will be attended by other NGOs, church groups, community leaders, representatives of authoritative bodies and maybe even Government officials.

“Also on the cards are invitations to representatives of the Philippines and Indonesian governments as the issue concerns children whose parents came from there,” she said.

After the presentation, she said, it is hoped that all attendees will deliberate on the matter and come up with possibilities of how to tackle the problem.

“Tenaganita will also be making some recommendations but more importantly, we want to see how all parties can work together for a solution,” she said.

No BC, no IC

The issue of the 10,000 children considered stateless/undocumented is a sensitive one and few people, including the authorities in Sabah, are willing to discuss it openly.

Instead, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman recently said that Sabah would inform Wisma Putra about claims that embassies were delaying issuance of travel documents to foreigners.

He was referring to the many stateless children in the detention centre in Menggatal. Indirectly, it is understood, the matter of other stateless/undocumented children in the State will also be brought up with Wisma Putra.

However, a Sabah-based NGO, the Sabah United Chinese Woman Association (SUCWA) feels that the management of stateless/undocumented children there is the responsibility of the Federal Government.

“We support the idea that a permanent solution must be sought but as it involves the children’s welfare, education and medical services, it should be a Federal matter,” said SUCWA honorary life president Christina Liew.

Whether it is the Federal Government or State government, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) feel that the situation is so serious it needs to be discussed at all levels so that a solution can be found on what can be done about the children.

The UNHCR head in Malaysia, Dr Volker Turk, said although the body is directly only responsible to tackle the problems relating to refugees, there are international standards that require the registration of births regardless of origins.

“The lack of birth registration leads to statelessness and as this affects children.

“The situation will lead to bigger problems in the future,” he said when contacted.

He admitted that there are no specific numbers recorded about these children but some NGOs estimate it to be around 10,000 in Sabah alone.

“UNHCR plans to conduct a study on this issue together with the United Nations Children Education Funds (Unicef) and Suhakam, latest by the end of this year,” he said.

He added that the topic is a sensitive one as it involves a complex migratory pattern.

“But it is the responsibility of the Government to look into the matter as Malaysia is a signatory of the Children’s Rights Convention (CRC) that aims at providing protection, education and shelter to children of the world,” he said.

A good picture of the current situation, a comprehensive study of how it came to be and a list of possible obstacles in solving the issue, he said, would be a good start for Malaysia in tackling the problem.

NGO on fact-finding mission