BUSINESSMEN holding Bruneian permanent resident status who regularly visit Malaysia for work purposes should be able to travel between the two countries without the hassle of applying for visas.
This issue was brought up at yesterday’s Legistlative Council session by Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh King Chin, a member of the Legislative Council. Due to the inconvenience of constantly having to apply and re-apply for visa permits, he said, Brunei has lost many of its professionals – Bruneian-born permanent residents – to other countries.
“Many of our talented people such as doctors, pilots, have left the country because they are unable to obtain a Brunei citizenship,” he said during the session and proposed that “we can give them special priority to get their citizenship so that they will remain in our country”. At the moment, Brunei permanent residents are divided into two groups: (i) foreign permanent residents who hold foreign passports but have permanent resident status in Brunei and (ii) local born permanent residents who are classified as “stateless” residents, and do not have a passport but travel using an International Certificate of Identification (ICI).
An Immigration officer scans a passport at the Immigration Control Post in Kuala Lurah. Brunei-born PR holders, however, have to apply for a re-entry visa after going out of the country. Picture: BT file
One of the biggest concerns raised by Pehin Goh regarding the status of being “stateless” is the inconvenience in conducting international travel, especially for businessmen, as a permit is needed to re-enter Brunei. “By right, they should not impose any re-entry permit and re-entry visa for local permanent residents because they are born in Brunei. For local businessmen who visit Peninsular Malaysia, they must apply visa. This is very inconvenient for the Brunei-born permanent residents,” he said.
He recommended that the government bring up the matter with the Malaysian government to make cross-border travel easier without requiring a visa, especially when visiting Sabah and Sarawak.
In response, Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Yusof, the Minister of Home Affairs, responded that Brunei was not the only country who provides the ICI documentation for permanent residents; it is also used by other countries. He added that the Home Affairs department will look into the issue and will discuss it with the relevant parties.The Brunei Times
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