TOUGHER FOR MALAYSIANS WHO FORGO CITIZENSHIP TO REAPPLY

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysians who have renounced their citizenship will be subjected to stricter procedures should they reapply for the status, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Monday.

He said their applications would be accorded the same treatment as that
given to those from foreigners applying for Malaysian citizenship.

Hishammuddin responded thus when asked to comment on a newspaper report
Monday that Malaysians who had renounced their citizenship found it difficult to
get British citizenship.

According to the report by a wire agency, datelined London, hundreds of
Malaysians who had "torn" up their Malaysian passports and left for Britain to
claim citizenship under colonial laws found themselves to be stateless persons.

The report said that an architect from Penang had to resort to washing
dishes at a Chinese restaurant after he had renounced his Malaysian citizenship
and gone to Britain.

"Sometimes, when we see what's going on in certain countries, we are drawn
by the promises of third parties. But what we get may not be what we had dreamed
of," Hishammuddin told reporters after attending an Eid reception of the
ministry, here.

He said he viewed seriously the action of some Malaysians who were prepared
to "discard" their citizenship when many foreigners were keen on acquiring
Malaysian citizenship.
-- BERNAMA