Most Malaysians who give up citizenship are Chinese
Thu, Nov 22, 2007
The Straits Times
KUALA LUMPUR - CHINESE make up the largest number of Malaysians who have renounced their citizenship, followed by Malays and Indians, Parliament was told yesterday.
The Home Ministry's parliamentary secretary Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said 16,474 Malaysians gave up their citizenship between 2000 and 2006.
Of these, 87 per cent or 14,316 people were Chinese, 1,098 were Malays (6.6 per cent) and 822 were Indians (5 per cent). The remainder comprised other races.
Mr Abdul Rahman said these Malaysians had applied for citizenship to India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Britain, the United States, Taiwan, Thailand, Germany, New Zealand, France, Austria, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Brunei, Finland and Jordan.
As to why they had opted to leave for other countries, he replied: 'The main reason is the (quality of life) in those countries.'
'They also consider the working environment, such as better opportunities and better pay. And some consider education for their children as a reason to apply for citizenship in a particular country,' he was quoted as saying by the online news portal Malaysiakini.
