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PETALING JAYA: The investigation paper on a claim that some 54,000 Chinese nationals are in the process of being made Malaysian citizens has been referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the cops had probed the case under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for the improper use of network facilities.

“The investigation paper has been referred to the AGC,” he said in a written Dewan Rakyat reply.

The national registration department had also previously denied the claim, saying a statement by Saifuddin in January had been manipulated.

It said he had actually stated that 54,000 citizenship applications in total had been submitted between 2017 and 2022.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the investigation into a claim that over 200 tahfiz schools in Selangor were ordered to shutter had been classified as “no further action” (NFA) by the AGC.

He said the cops had probed the case under the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, but that the AGC found that the elements of sedition were not fulfilled.

The minister was replying to Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) who asked for an update on the status of both cases.

Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah previously expressed disappointment with those who claimed that the government was shutting down hundreds of tahfiz schools in Selangor, describing them as “irresponsible”.

Religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar and the Selangor government had also denied the claims. The state government said Sultan Sharafuddin merely wanted all tahfiz schools in Selangor to be registered with the Selangor Islamic religious department or Jais.