Malaysia And Thailand To Reciprocate On Pr Status

[george]

Malaysia and Thailand to reciprocate on PR status

BANGKOK: -- Malaysians and Thais who hold dual citizenship will have to decide which nationality they want to retain.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this formula was decided on at yesterday’s bilateral meeting between him and his Thai counterpart Surayud Chulanont at Government House.

He said - during a joint press conference with Surayud after their meeting - that this was the most positive step taken by the two countries, which had discussed the matter for many years.

Abdullah’s three-day visit to Thailand, which began on Sunday, was his first after the Sept 19 coup that brought in Surayud as Prime Minister.

Abdullah said a person who resided in Malaysia but chose Thai citizenship would be given permanent resident (PR) status for him to remain in Malaysia.

“Thailand will reciprocate in like manner for a person opting for Malaysian citizenship but wanting to stay in Thailand,” he said.

Abdullah said the governments would ascertain the number of people possessing dual citizenship by identifying them via their thumbprint using biometrics.

“With the technology, we will know who has dual citizenship and when we discover them, we would like them to make a choice,” he said.

Last year, Thai newspaper reports claimed that there were 50,000 to 100,000 people holding dual citizenship.

Abdullah said Malaysia would also cooperate with Thailand in areas of development.

“We will look into how to help people in south Thailand gain opportunities by being trained in Malaysia so that they can seek employment with the certificate they have,” he said.

Before the bilateral meeting, the Malaysian Prime Minister had an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Dusit Palace in the Thai capital.

--The Star, MY, 2007-02-12

[george]

M'sia, Thailand Exchange Biometric Info Over Dual Citizenship

BANGKOK: -- Malaysia and Thailand have started a pilot project to exchange biometric information to resolve the issue of dual citizenship, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said here Monday.

He said each country has provided on a voluntary basis 500 fingerprints and other information on their respective citizens through the cooperation between Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry and Thailand's Interior Ministry.

"They will start to verify and see if there is there overlapping of citizenship. Once they get (these), the work can start," he said when briefing Malaysian journalists on the informal meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Thai counterpart Surayud Chulanont in Phuket, Sunday.

Both leaders are meeting here in their bilateral talks, with discussions focusing on the conflict in southern Thailand where close to 2,000 people have been killed due to separatists fighting for independence from Bangkok.

Thailand has claimed that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 people holding the citizenship of both countries, making it easy for suspected insurgents to hide in Malaysia after committing violence in the three restive southern Thailand provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.

The agreement to exchange information, including photographs and fingerprints, was arrived at during talks between Thai Interior Ministry permanent secretary Pongpayom Wasaphuti and secretary-general of the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry Datuk Aseh Che Mat.

But the two sides acknowledged the technical barriers posed by differences in the database software of the Thai and Malaysian electronic ID cards.

Thailand is now issuing fingerprint-embedded smart ID cards to the 1.2 million residents of the Muslim-majority southern provinces to prevent insurgents from crossing into Malaysia after launching attacks.

Describing the Phuket meeting as successful with good chemistry between the two leaders, Syed Hamid said they discussed various issues, including enhancing of bilateral ties and Thailand's request for Malaysia to assist in restoring peace in its southern provinces.

"Prime Minister (Abdullah) gave his view and how we look at it. Whenever possible, we will assist and we have agreed to identify specific areas of cooperation like economic cooperation, technical training and higher education for youths in the south," he said.

The agreement to exchange information, including photographs and fingerprints, was arrived at during talks between Thai Interior Ministry permanent secretary Pongpayom Wasaphuti and secretary-general of the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry Datuk Aseh Che Mat.

But the two sides acknowledged the technical barriers posed by differences in the database software of the Thai and Malaysian electronic ID cards.

Thailand is now issuing fingerprint-embedded smart ID cards to the 1.2 million residents of the Muslim-majority southern provinces to prevent insurgents from crossing into Malaysia after launching attacks.

Describing the Phuket meeting as successful with good chemistry between the two leaders, Syed Hamid said they discussed various issues, including enhancing of bilateral ties and Thailand's request for Malaysia to assist in restoring peace in its southern provinces.

"Prime Minister (Abdullah) gave his view and how we look at it. Whenever possible, we will assist and we have agreed to identify specific areas of cooperation like economic cooperation, technical training and higher education for youths in the south," he said.

Syed Hamid said Thailand has requested for Malaysians to invest in the southern provinces to create more job opportunities, as well as training of religious teachers and improving the standard of religious schools through the use of Malaysia's module.

"They also want to know more about Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam)," he said.

He said the Thai Government has placed a lot of hope on Malaysia to help it solve the southern conflict and Malaysia was willing to share its experience in dealing with minority groups," he added.

Asked what went wrong with their diplomatic ties in the last two years, Syed Hamid said the issue of southern Thailand was a domestic problem that had a spillover effect on Malaysia, and added that each time there was problem there, the media tended to relate it with Malaysia.

On the issue of 130 Thai Muslims under detention in Terengganu since they fled to Malaysia in August 2005, Syed Hamid said Malaysia would not deport them against their will and that the Thai Government would be allowed to interview them at any time.

--Bernama MY, 2007-02-12