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. © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

De facto stateless Orang asli De jure stateless Rohingya International law Malaysia

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