We’ve been suffering for too long, say mums in citizenship rights quest

 

The Kuala Lumpur High Court declared on Sept 9 that mothers are entitled to confer citizenship by operation of law in all processes, just like fathers.

GEORGE TOWN: Two Malaysian mothers who are fighting to secure citizenship rights for their children today shared how they have been suffering for many years in their legal battle on the issue.

Adlyn Adam Teoh spoke of her experience in trying to get her son the “basic human right to education in a public school and healthcare”.

“I was left with no option but to enrol him in an international school despite my desire to enrol him in a national school,” she said at a press conference co-organised by the Penang government and Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC) here.

“The education ministry prioritises enrolment of Malaysian-born children in national schools. Non-citizen children will only be allowed to enrol if there are spaces available under the enrolment quota system.

“That is why I had to enrol my son in an international school. I was concerned that he would miss out on his education since the schools would make me wait for months to process my son’s enrolment application.”

Teoh also spoke about how she and other mothers like her are forced to pay a high fee, which is applied to all foreigners, for their children to receive treatment in government hospitals.

“This is especially difficult for mothers whose children have health problems. We have to pay a lot for our children to get treated,” she said.

She also lamented the fact that these children who, through no fault of theirs, are deprived of Malaysian citizenship and “a national identity”.

“My son only knows one country – Malaysia. If these children are not Malaysians, then what are they? It is hard for these children to relate themselves to other countries”, she said.

Another mother, Roshena Rafiq, spoke about how she is still waiting for the citizenship application status of her twin children.

“I made a citizenship application for my children back in 2014 which was rejected without any explanation.

“I reapplied in 2018 and was told by the officer from the home ministry that my application will be processed in two years. However, it has now been three years, and they have yet to respond to the application,” she said.

She said the ordeal has caused a lot of stress for her and her family.

Roshena also spoke of how her husband, who is a doctor, was deprived of a job opportunity in the country because he is here on a short-term employment visa that has to be renewed every six months.

The affected mothers urged the government not to appeal against the ruling made by the Kuala Lumpur High Court last month that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses should be automatically conferred Malaysian citizenship.

“Give us some space to continue with our lives. Withdraw the appeal in the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia,” Teoh said. - FMT