PETALING JAYA: Indonesians rank top among foreigners granted citizenship in Malaysia, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

From 2010 to 2024, Indonesians made up 23.52 per cent, followed by India (6.76 per cent), Thailand (5.02 per cent) and the Philippines (2.77 per cent), while 61.02 per cent were from other countries.

Chinese nationals made up 0.91 per cent in receiving citizenship for the same period of time, he said.

Saifuddin said on 7 November last year that only 203 Chinese nationals had been granted Malaysian citizenship since 2013.

The record of citizenship from the Home Ministry refutes claims that 1.2 million Chinese nationals have obtained Malaysian citizenship.

Saifuddin said this last Thursday in a written reply to Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, member of parliament for Putrajaya.

Mohd Radzi asked for the number of citizens and permanent residents approved by the government from 2010 to 2024.

For permanent residents, Philippines ranked top with 35.5 per cent, followed by Indonesia (26.38 per cent), Thailand (8.73 per cent), India (5.99 per cent), Singapore (2.72 per cent) and others (20.63 per cent).