The Home Minister just reaffirmed what needs to be a Malaysian and it need not necessarily for the applicants to master the national language.
Recently, a senior academic publicly voiced out saying citizenship means little if a citizen fails to master the national language.
He stressed that having a good command of BM is important, especially as BM is the main medium of instruction in the country’s education system and the official language used in administration, law, and government affairs.
Even though the Home Minister did not call out this academic over his argument directly, he effectively shunted out the argument by the senior academic at a townhall session at UiTM Kedah.
On the requirement for applicants for Malaysian citizenship to have "adequate knowledge of the Malay language", the Home Minister said the Federal Constitution does not say fluent, nor does it require in-depth knowledge.
The Federal Constitution says adequate and the standard is subjective.
If the applicants understand, the Home Minister who has the authority to approve the application can grant an exemption.
The Home Minister further added that for citizenship by naturalization sets out in Article 19 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the practice has always been that `we coach them before the interview: 'Apa khabar?' (How are you?), they answer 'Khabar baik' (I am well). 'Terima kasih' (Thank you), they answer 'Sama-sama' (You are welcome).
Does Malaysian citizenship mean anything to the footballers that were naturalised earlier?
Based on the assertion by the senior academic, it obviously doesn’t mean anything for them.
Maybe the learned senior academic should `school’ the Home Minister that citizenship in this country requires the applicant to master the national language and is not for him to waive or exempt the applicant from arbitarily.
The learned senior academic should take his views to the politicians and political elite and probably lobby for a law to curb the authority of the Home Minister in granting waivers or exemptions for those applicants who failed to master Bahasa Malaysia.
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