SHAH ALAM, 18 Dec: The Umno-BN government has been asked to immediately solve the problem of lack of identification affecting the Indian community in this country and to not flip-flop on the issue.
According to PKR vice-president N Surendran, it is generally known that hundreds of thousands of people from the Indian community, particularly in the Peninsular, have been denied their rights to personal identification documents although they are citizens who were born and live in this country.
He said that the challenge to prove that there are about 300,000 people from the Indian society who do not have personal identification documents will only be made when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak demonstrates commitment in solving these problems.
“I want Najib and the government to first explain to the people why, after 55 years of independence, there are still so many people in this country who have been denied the blue identity card although they are citizens. If they (Umno-BN government) are able to give a satisfactory answer, I will show the evidence of these 300,000 cases.
“We demand that the government solve this problem as soon as possible and construct empty and meaningless challenges,” he said this today to TV Selangor.
Surendran also commented on the statement made by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk SK Devamany who said that he would resign if the opposition is able to prove the allegations that 300,000 people from the Indian community in this country do not have personal identification documents as Reported by Bernama.
Surandran described the statement as irresponsible of a Deputy Minister because there should not even be a single individual who has been born and lives in this country that is denied the right to possess the document.
“I see no such commitment by the government, including the Prime Minister and MIC, in solving this problem. We know that hundreds of thousands of people have this problem,” he added.
On December 12, Surendran and several PKR leaders had lead the Seated Demonstration Assembly at the National Registration Department in Putrajaya which was attended by more than 300 people to demand for the Federal Government to solve the problems of the Indian community who have been denied rights as citizens.