Papers by Tamara J Duraisingam
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019
Upon arrival in a particular country, one may provisionally be categorized by immigration officer... more Upon arrival in a particular country, one may provisionally be categorized by immigration officers, in unsavory ways. These include so-called “asylum seekers” as they are perceived to be. The terms refugees, undocumented persons, illegal immigrants or stateless individuals are categorically more specific terms that may be used to describe such people. These terms, however, have a central underlying theme which one may neglect while discharging his or her duties at particular checkpoints, and that is this: they are dealing with human beings in desperate circumstances. Individuals with improper travel papers enter a particular state with the hope of securing at least one of these unsavory designations, to a greater or lesser degree. One may prefer to be declared a refugee rather than a stateless individual. This is due to the fact that being termed a refugee may safeguard one’s rights more effectively than being stateless. In the course of my paper I will attempt to distinguish between the refugee and the stateless individual. I will then probe into the treaties which provide for rights to these sets of individuals and determine who ends up with a better deal. I will conclude by looking at whether there is a possibility for the lesser privileged group to gain access to rights allocated to the more privileged group of undocumented persons.
UUM journal of legal studies, 2020
This paper focuses on the Rule of Law and its reach in terms of the stateless Indian in Malaysia.... more This paper focuses on the Rule of Law and its reach in terms of the stateless Indian in Malaysia. The term rule of law has been used by politicians to secure political mileage during election campaign periods and continues to be used upon formation of a new government. Regardless of its transcendent nature and noble assurance of a government of laws and not men, there would be gaps in the usage of the term rule of law as it does not reach all levels of community. As beneficent as the concept maybe, it does not serve to assist the stateless Indian community in securing employment in the state. Hence the significance of the research is to identify the gaps in the application of Rule of Law in Malaysia towards the stateless Indian. This study is a purely conceptual one which evaluates the constitutional concept of rule of law and its limitations in providing employment rights for stateless Indians. The predominant research question is whether the Rule of Law as understood by constitutional philosophers helps mitigate the plight of the stateless Indian. It investigates the notion that perhaps stateless Indians are not stateless after all but have been given that categorization so as to allow for their plight to be catapulted into the international sphere where customary international law and treaty law could in ideal
Vulnerable Groups in Malaysia, 2020
International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2016
The paper analyses the plight of four minority groups in Malaysia that have stateless persons in ... more The paper analyses the plight of four minority groups in Malaysia that have stateless persons in their midst. They are the Orang Asli residing in West Malaysia; the Indians of West Malaysia; the street children of Sabah and the Rohingya who have habitual residence in Myanmar but are currently residing in West Malaysia. The first three groups are de facto stateless whereas the Rohingya who are doubly marginalised due to their status as refugees and stateless persons are de jure stateless. The paper evaluates the factors that lead to the cause of de facto statelessness and its underlying problem as well as the clear and direct cause of de jure statelessness borne by the Rohingya population residing in Malaysia. Consequences of statelessness in Malaysia are indeed grave and analysed in this paper. This allows for greater appreciation of the breadth and depth of the problem of statelessness within the State.
Journal of Migration and Health
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Papers by Tamara J Duraisingam