Dear YAB Home Minister,

Because of the Malaysia's 'needs' and 'interests', your predecessors had unfairly favoured one of your neighbour country's citizens to get red and blue national identity cards on a fast track which enable them also to be classified as bumiputeras.

According to the official policy, only professionals and those married to Malaysians are favoured but we are amused to see a lot of sweepers, hawkers, toilet cleaners, manual labourers from that particular country holding Malaysian identity cards.

Shamefully, many foreign professionals (including many Muslims) who are in Malaysia even for more than 10 years are denied the red IC until and unless they have some contact in the highest places. For the rest of us, we have to stay in Malaysia for at least 22 years (that is 12 years after getting a permanent residence status assuming we do get a PR in 10 years) just to be eligible to apply for Malaysian citizenship.

But some rich foreigners who cannot even speak Bahasa Malaysia get a Malaysian IC and then full citizenship in about five to six years. The real problem is that there are a lot of Napoleons, little, big and great, in the Home Ministry's immigration section who even dare to ignore the minister's orders.

But suddenly, following the Bali bombings, many of these 'favoured citizens' holding Malaysian PRs and Malaysian C of I (Certificate of Identity which could be used as passports) were deemed to be tarnishing the Malaysian image.

So Malaysian government decided to punish not only them but all the other foreigners holding Malaysian PRs. The Malaysian government abolished the whole department that used to issue Malaysian C of I, forcing all the PR holders to revert back to their high commissions and embassies.

Some of these missions, especially our Burmese embassy, are now charging excessive fees for passports and demanding all kinds of donations. Worst of all, they blatantly discriminate against Muslims.

The Malaysian government has now disowned us, genuine holders of Malaysian PR status with Malaysian MyKads. We do not have citizenship, it is a very rare chance for us unlike the above mentioned citizens from a neighbouring country that the Malaysian government favoured.

What is the real reason for us needing an endorsement on our passports only obtainable from the Immigration Department at Putrajaya? If we re-enter Malaysia and show our Malaysian MyKads or PR certificates, what is wrong with that? It is a shame that the Malaysian Immigration itself cannot trust or have no confidence in the MyKad.

Please stop this unfair red tape ruling altogether. It is enough if the Malaysian government just asks PR holders to carry their Malaysian ICs and allow Immigration officers at all exit points to endorse the relevant passports. Your MyKad is a first-class facility, but asking us to go to Putrajaya Immigration, in spite of having it, is a third-class mentality.

Please do not think that we are biting the hand which feeds us. We all thank Malaysians and the Malaysian government for allowing us to stay and work here peacefully away from all the atrocities back home. But we all are also suffering in silence for a very long time because even here we are unfairly discriminated against when compared to other foreigners.