For years now, foreign spouses have been voicing out their grievances about the Immigration Department dragging its feet in giving them PR and many were forced to leave for other countries where they can enjoy the right to reside and be employed without restrictions.

Those still in the country had given up hope and could only expect PR posthumously (i.e. by being buried in this country.)

Only recently under the present home minister and thanks to him, the backlog of PR applications have been cleared and many who have lived in the country for decades were finally given PR.

As per a media release, all PR applications submitted until 2009 have been cleared.

However some who have been visiting the Immigration Department at Putrajaya on a fairly regular basis, have noticed since 2009, there have been a large number of Indonesian male workers in their 40s at the counter for ‘permit masuk', to be specific counter 2 and counter 3, submitting their documents.

However it is highly unlikely that these men fall under any of the categories for PR as provided by Immigration.

The Immigration website, http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/entry-permit clearly indicates the ways in which one can get permanent residency status in Malaysia, as per the Immigration Act and Regulations 1959/63.

1. Individual investor with minimum US$2 million fixed deposit (FD) in Malaysia (high net worth individual)

2. Expert (highly talented and highly skilled individual)

3. Professional

4. Spouse to Malaysian citizen

5. Application for permanent resident through point based system

Spouses have to be accompanied by their Malaysian spouses, so one can easily recognise this category of persons submitting documents for PR.

As recent as July 2011, on a visit and within a three hour duration at immigration, it was noticed that there were around five spouses of various nationalities waiting and at least 20-25 Indonesian male workers within the age group of 35-45.

There were two of that looked like they were over 50, and could have been in the country for five years or more.

Ask some of the contractors in the housing or building industry, they will tell you that many of their Indonesian workers are getting PR.

Some of them have not resided in the country for more than three years but have blue ICs.

Oh, just for information, foreign spouses with Malaysian families are eligible to apply for PR, after they have been on a one year long term social pass, renewed for five years.

Then it depends on who is approving the PR. Under the previous home minister, some spouses who were residing in the country up to forty years, were still waiting for their PR.

Then again, spouses with Malaysian children who are widowed or in estranged marriages, get their PR applications withdrawn.

They are required to have a sponsor to secure a visa to live in the country, perpetuating a situation of dependency.

This pass does not allow the person to be employed. How then are they supposed to earn a living to support themselves and their families in dignity?

At the other end of the spectrum, if these workers are PR, they will have the right to reside and be employed and though they do not have voting rights, who knows if citizenship for them has been fast tracked.

An informal chat with some officers revealed that these people come with political recommendations.

Perhaps all this needs verification and a parliamentary committee should be immediately formed to conduct an impartial inquiry.

There should be an audit regarding the number of PR and citizenships awarded, their gender, nationality and under which category they come under.

It has to be known on what basis are these workers being given PR or citizenships.