Elderly applying for citizenship get to repeat language test if they fail

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said formal language is no longer used in interviews, with panel members holding casual conversations in Malay with elderly applicants. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The national registration department (JPN) has simplified applications for citizenship by the elderly so that those who fail the Bahasa Malaysia language test are allowed to repeat the process, says home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said in Parliament today that most of them apply for citizenship to be eligible for government aid.

Of the 1,041 elderly applicants, 144 failed the test, he said.

“We allow them to repeat the process. Welfare and aid is all they want. They say they want to die as citizens of Malaysia.”

Saifuddin said formal language is no longer used in interviews, with interview panel members now holding casual conversations in Bahasa Malaysia with elderly applicants.

“The interview process no longer uses formal language, like: ‘Puan, bolehkah puan terangkan latar belakang puan? (Can you explain your background to us?)’

“These days, the interview panel just holds a conversation with them. ‘Puan, pagi ni dah makan? Puan datang dengan siapa? (Have you eaten this morning? Who did you come here with?)’

“Then we show them pictures of KLCC, Deepavali celebrations, the lion dance, murukku, satay.

“We require them to say what it is (in Bahasa Malaysia), like ‘murukku is what you eat during Deepavali’. This is how we have simplified the process for those aged above 70.”

Saifuddin also said his ministry has targeted this year to decide on the citizenship of 17,000 applications, compared with last year’s target of 10,000.

“We hit the target last year. As I speak, we have decided on 8,805 citizenship applications,” he said.

Saifuddin had said in March that there was a need to retrain JPN officers and suggested that interviews for the elderly be done as a group rather than individually.

“The way questions are framed is also important. Instead of asking applicants to state their reason for applying for citizenship, we frame the question carefully by asking why the applicant wants to obtain a blue identity card,” he said.

He had also said in October last year that the Bahasa Malaysia proficiency test was one of the reasons why many senior citizens failed to obtain citizenship.