THE government must resolve 22-year-old Rohana Abdullah’s citizenship status immediately without any “lengthy investigations or bureaucratic processes”, said Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).

LFL head coordinator Zaid Malek said the Home Ministry must revamp its policies and those of the  National Registration Department so that people in similar situations would not be rendered stateless in contravention of the constitution.

“It is not good enough to react to adverse news coverage on a single issue with promises of action, and then go back to ignoring the tens of thousands with similar problems like Rohana; reactive solutions are inadequate, statelessness must be addressed comprehensively and systematically at its root,” he said in a statement today.

Zaid was referring to Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin’s pledge to look into Rohana’s case.

“We urge him to resolve Rohana’s status as a stateless person immediately; the facts are clear.

“And there is no need for lengthy investigations or bureaucratic processes. Rohana and her adoptive mother have suffered long enough,” he said.

Zaid said Rohana and those like her were victims of deliberate bureaucratic processes that persistently failed to uphold the Federal Constitution, which accords foundlings citizenship by law.

“The impact that this has on them cannot be understated; being stateless deprives them of many opportunities in life such as education, healthcare, and occupation,” said Zaid.

Rohana was abandoned by her Indonesian biological mother at the kindergarten where her adoptive mother, Chee Hoi Lan, worked.

Although she was single, the kindergarten teacher raised Rohana while ensuring that the girl received proper religious instruction.

Rohana applied for citizenship in 2016 but has not received a response.

Her plight has also drawn the attention of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Meanwhile, Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said the government must acknowledge policy gaps if it was serious about assisting stateless persons in Malaysia.

She said all stateless children whose Malaysian paternity is proven in a DNA report must begiven citizenship.

“All stateless children legally adopted by Malaysian parents should also be given Malaysian citizenship,” she said in a statement.  

She added that stateless persons should not have to get their plight reported by the media before they are offered help by the country’s officials, such as what had transpired in Rohana’s case. – January 17, 2022.