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November 18, 2009 15:30 PM
Muhyiddin: Difficult For Malaysians Who Give Up Citizenship To Get It Back
From Elmi Rizal Elias
ROME, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysians who gave up their citizenship would face difficulty when re-applying for the status, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said it was imperative that they give it serious thought before "discarding" their citizenship to take up residence in other countries.
He said, such action (to give up the citizenship) by some Malaysians was on their own accord, and not the government which made the decision.
"It would be quite difficult for those who renounced their citizenship to regain it," he said during a dialogue session with the Malaysian community in Italy last night.
Muhyiddin was responding to a question whether the government would consider re-instating the status of Malaysians who had renounced their citizenship.
Also present at the dialogue session were Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Malaysian Ambassador to Italy, Ramli Naam, and Muhyiddin's wife, Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman.
The deputy prime minister is here to attend the three-day World Summit on Food Security 2009 which began Monday.
Muhyiddin said, he was aware of some Malaysians who had chosen to give up their citizenship, but later wanted it back because of many factors, including becoming homesick.
"Of course, they can re-apply for it but there is no guarantee that they can get back their citizenship as it is a serious matter," he added.
In a related matter, Muhyiddin urged Malaysians who worked abroad for many years and gained sufficient experience, to return and serve the country.
Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin called on Malaysians working abroad to play the role of goodwill ambassadors and promote the country.
"I heard, some of you have restaurants selling Malaysian food here. It is one of the examples where you can project the image of the country," he added.
-- BERNAMA
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