PUTRAJAYA: Three of the five Border Scouts who are appealing for MyKad are permanent residents but have not applied for citizenship.

According to the Immigration Department, three of the former soldiers were already holders of MyPR cards with permanent resident status since 2013.

“However, they have never submitted any application to become citizens of Malaysia as they have not fulfilled one of the criteria to make them eligible to apply,” it said in response to The Star’s queries on the plight of the former soldiers.

According to the department, the trio have yet to meet the condition of having lived in the country for at least 12 years, including a year before applying to become a Malaysian citizen.

The department could only provide explanation on the status of the three red identity card holders – Kadamus Liling, 71, Basar Paru, 86, and Florant Arun, 70.

It has yet to obtain information on Basar Arun, 76, and Anderias Sha, 76, to ascertain their status. Basar Arun and Anderias hold green identity cards – a temporary identification document.

Anyone applying for citizenship will have to fulfill several criteria as stated under Article 19(1) and 19 (2) of the Federal Constitution, including to be present before the Registrar of Citizenship when applying.

They must also have the intention of residing in the Federation permanently.

An applicant must also be of good character and behaviour, have sufficient understanding of Bahasa Malaysia and have two unrelated sponsors who are Malaysian citizens.

“It must be pointed out that fulfilling criteria doesn’t mean an application will be approved. Any decision to award citizenship lies with the Government,” said the department.

On March 20, The Star highlighted the plight of the five, who served as Border Scouts along the Sarawak mountains with Indonesia during the Confrontation in the late 1950s.

But despite risking their lives for the nation, Basar Arun, Kadamus, Basar Paru, Florant and Anderias are stateless.

The five claimed to have applied for ICs to get citizenships when Malaysia was formed but the National Registration Department was unsure whether they were born in Kalimantan (Indonesia) or Malaysia.

Resource : The Star