HOME Minister Hamzah Zainudin should amend citizenship laws for all stateless children and not look into cases on an ad hoc basis, said Hannah Yeoh.

The Segambut MP said the home minister should not look at cases one by one as every month counts for these children.

“There are many other cases with such sad circumstances,” she wrote on Facebook today.

“In all stateless/citizenship applications, every single child is innocent. The home minister needs to review the entire policy, amend laws and not look at cases one by one as every month counts for these children – education, healthcare and safety.”

Her post is in response to the home minister’s statement on a stateless person’s situation, which was highlighted by the media.

Hamzah earlier today said he has instructed his officers to look into the case of Rohana Abdullah, a stateless woman raised by a non-Muslim after she was abandoned as a baby.

Rohana said her biological mother abandoned her at a kindergarten 22 years ago to return to Indonesia.

Her 2-month-old self was taken in by kindergarten teacher Chee Hoi Lan, 83, who raised her as a Muslim.

“I was touched when I was informed about this last week,” said Hamzah.

“I have instructed my officers to investigate the validity of the information before making any decision.”

Rohana’s citizenship has been questioned as her birth mother is Indonesian and her Malaysian father disappeared when she was young.

Rohana has been applying for citizenship since 2016, but she has yet to get any response.

Harian Metro reported that she was forced to drop out of school as she does not have proper documents. – January 16, 2022.