WHEN Amar Akil Darwisy was seven days old, his biological mother flagged down a passing car and literally dumped him on the woman driver.

“I didn’t know the woman but I stopped because she was holding a baby and was clearly in distress,” Amar’s new mum, Mordiah Abon, said recalling the incident in Kuching in 2017.

“After telling me to take the baby because she (Amar’s biological mother) could not take care of him, all the woman left with her was a maternity clinic card that showed the baby was born in the Sarawak General Hospital,” the 43 year-old Kampung Selang, Asajaya housewife said after receiving Amar’s temporary document for stateless individuals from Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg this afternoon.

His biological mother is believed to be an Indonesian national.

“So we registered his birth and adopted him,” Mordiah and her 46-year-old oil palm plantation worker husband Awang Musa Awang Dillah said.

But the birth certificate listed him as a “non-citizen”, meaning he could not benefit from free government healthcare or attend a national school.

In a week’s time, Amar, now seven years old, will begin his primary education at Chung Hua school in nearby Kampung Beliong. His parents no longer need to worry about the school rejecting him.

The document, valid for two years, could be used to support his application for citizenship.

“He had jaundice and when we took him to the clinic at Beliong, we had to pay for the treatment,” Mordiah said.

“We had to pay for all his mandatory vaccinations and they’re not cheap either,” she added.

The document was a great relief to Mordiah and Awang Musa.

“We’re thankful to the Sarawak government for this initiative.”

Amar was among 45 recipients to receive the document today.

The state government gave its nod to the initiative on July 21 last year. Application was opened on November 1.

Until March 10 this year, 394 applications were received.

Out of that number, 175 fulfilled all the requirements but state Women, Early Childhood and Community Well-being Minister Fatimah Abdullah said only 86 got the approval from the Premier of Sarawak Department.

Of the 86, 13 have gone on to receive their citizenship.

To qualify for it, the applicant must be under 21 years of age, born in Sarawak with at least one of their biological parents a citizen domiciled in Sarawak.

They also must have a birth certificate to show that they are born in Sarawak, and have applied for citizenship.

For 17-year-old Tanjung Manis student, Aisha Najha Ismail, it was a 16-year wait for a document to ease her citizenship application.

When Aisha’s father, Ismail Seruji, registered her birth, he was shocked to find that she was categorised as a non-citizen.

Ismail, a businessman, said he was told by the officer at the National Registration Department that the marriage certificate of him and his Indonesian wife from Sambas in West Kalimantan “was not recognised”.

“I was asked to register my marriage for a second time here to get a recognised certificate,” the 60 year-old from Kampung Bawang Matu in Daro, central Sarawak said.

However, the certificate came a little too late. Aisha was born before it was issued.

“I would easily have spent thousands of ringgit trying to get her citizenship.”

Ismail said he had gone to towns such Matu, Sarikei, Mukah and even as far away as Sibu in his quest to get his eldest daughter her citizenship.

“Finally I heard about this temporary document for stateless individuals and applied for it.”

That was in November last year.

When he was told that his application was successful, “a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders”, he said.

Aisha managed to attend school on the “student pass” issued by the Immigration Department.

Ismail said it was a hassle as he had to apply for the pass every year.

Now Aisha, a Form 5 student at SMK Semop, is hoping to get her citizenship and realise her dream of studying visual arts in a local university.

“I’m so happy to have this document. I didn’t believe we would be successful after all the years of trying,” Ismail said.

The food entrepreneur said he faced many hurdles in even applying for the temporary document.

“My village headman would not endorse my application,” he said.

He said fortunately, the district officer, who is a friend, endorsed the application.

Ismail claimed there are four other families in Tanjung Manis who are in a similar predicament.

“They are still waiting for their document.” – March 16, 2023.