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 of Malaya, i.e., unless he has during the three preceding years been convicted of a criminal offence for which he has been sentenced to death or imprisonment for twelve months or more and in respect or which he has not received a free pardon.

Again, as with the previous category, we consider that the formalities for obtaining citizenship should be reduced to the minimum so that as few difficulties as possible are put in the way of people who have made their homes in the Borneo territories and who wish to remain in Malaysia as citizens. During the period of the application of these arrangements we recommend that the existing provision in Sarawak and North Borneo regarding a language test should apply. We also recommend that there should be a waiver for a limited period of the language test in respect of persons above a certain age.

We also recommend that such an applicant should take the citizenship oath in the term prescribed in the existing Constitution of the Federation of Malaya.

We further recommend that if a person obtains a certificate of citizenship under this arrangement it should be possible for him to app|y, at the same time that he obtains his own certificate, for the grant of a certificate of citizenship in respect of any of his minor children born before that date and ordinarily resident with him in Malaysia.

(iii) Subject to the above points, we recommend that after Malaysia the existing provisions of the Constitution of the Federation or Malaya relating to the acquisition and termination of citizenship should apply mutatis mutandis.

This will mean, inter alia , that all persons born in the Borneo territories aﬁer Malaysia will be citizens of Malaysia by operation of law, provided that one of their parents is a citizen, or is a permanent resident of the Federation. If our recommendation is approved, we regard it as important that adequate publicity should be given to this point in order to dispel the doubts that were frequently expressed to us about the position of the non—natives.

(iv) The citizenship provisions which we have recommended above should be subject to the special guarantee that we have recommended in paragraph 148 (b) of this report.

 

149. We would make it clear at the outset that, on the basis of the assessment of opinion in the territories which is recorded in earlier chapters of this report, we have reached the conclusion that, on appropriate conditions, Malaysia is an attractive and workable project, and would be advantageous to all parties concerned. 