LAWYERS for Liberty (LFL) today called attention to the plight of three more stateless children, urging Putrajaya to immediately recognise them as citizens.

The legal rights group introduced 20-year-old Roisah Abdullah, a top student with excellent results in her PMR, SPM and STPM examinations but who was unable to apply to a university because of her stateless status.

“I had to make multiple applications to register to go to school,” she told reporters at the LFL office in Petaling Jaya today.

She was allowed to attend school and sit for exams using her birth certificate, but she has been denied a MyKad, and as a result, a tertiary education.

She applied for citizenship in 2013 but was informed by the Home Affairs Ministry in January that her application was rejected. The letter dated January 16 did not state a reason for the rejection other than it was in accordance with Article 15A of the Federal Constitution. The letter was signed by the ministry’s head secretary Mimmi Suriati Mat Khalid.

Rosiah, whose mother is a foreigner while her father’s details are unknown, was born in a hospital in Klang. She was put up for adoption at birth. 

Padang Serai MP N. Surendran said Rosiah’s case was urgent as she needed to enrol in university.

“By right government should send her abroad because she is a brilliant student. But despite being a top student, she has got no future.

“Nobody will give her a job because she has got no papers. How do we justify this? But most importantly she needs to get to university now,” he said.

Another case was of an 8-year-old who was born at home. She is the eighth of 11 children  but is the only one without a MyKad due to the circumstances of her birth.

The Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) has affirmed that she was born at home, but the National Registration Department (NRD) has disagreed and has denied the girl her citizenship.

“As a result she cannot go to school. This is very urgent because here, in Malaysia, in 2018, you have a child who has been denied schooling for one year,” said Surendran.sta

A third stateless child, a 7-year-old girl, was born to parents whose marriage was not registered.

Her Malaysian father and Indonesian mother applied for her citizenship in April last year.

Surendran urged the government to intervene and grant the children immediate citizenship as it was their right by law.

“These kids are already citizens by operation of law.

“The law has been breached. If in Malaysia no child can be rendered stateless, then why are these three stateless? Then Malaysians authorities have breached the law.”

Earlier this year, a group of anguished parents had shown up at the NRD to highlight the issue of their stateless children. – March 12, 2018.