Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono responded to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin’s Facebook post, offering 22-year-old Rohana Abdullah, who has remained stateless in Malaysia, a solution to her current predicament.
In a comment on Hamzah’s Facebook post on Jan 16, Hermono (above), who goes by a single name, said “YB Datuk Seri, if it is true that Rohana’s mother is an Indonesian citizen, the embassy will find a solution so that she will have an identity for the sake of her future. Thank you, Datuk Seri, for your concern.”
A source from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur revealed that it's policy is to provide maximum protection for every Indonesian citizen, including those who were abroad and even to those born in Malaysia, even if their mothers did not have the necessary documents.
“Citizenship is a human right that we take seriously,” said the source.
The source revealed that in 2021, they facilitated the documentation of more than 6,000 children aged between one day old and 21 years old for their safe return to Indonesia.
“Similarly, a little more than 22,000 undocumented adults whose citizenship was confirmed to be Indonesian were provided with travel documents, also known as SPLP, to return to Indonesia last year.
“Although these adults and children returned through the recalibration programme, the total number of Indonesians who took advantage of this programme was much higher and that data was with the Malaysian Immigration Department.
“To ensure the child’s safe passage back to Indonesia, each was issued three crucial documents which comprised Indonesian citizenship, birth registration, and travel documents,” said the source.
There are many cases similar to Rohana's...
Hamzah’s Facebook post carried a link to the news portal Harian Metro, which featured Rohana’s plight of being stateless, having to drop out of school at an early age, and her plea for a “status that would allow her to live life like anyone else”.
In the Facebook post, dated Jan 16, Hamzah said “I was touched to be informed of this last week and have instructed my officers to first investigate the validity of the information provided before making any decision.”
On Jan 17, Bernama reported Hamzah’s acknowledgement of many cases similar to that of Rohana’s all across the country, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, and confirmed the ministry addressing such issues is on its agenda this year.
The story also attracted the attention of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Rohana was raised by kindergarten teacher Chee Hoi Lan who brought her up according to the practices of the Muslim faith, but she has yet to get the required documentation to establish her citizenship.
Rohana’s story was first reported by Harian Metro on Jan 14, which shared that Chee, who is now 83, had been a kindergarten teacher where Rohana’s mother worked as a cleaner.
The Indonesian woman was reportedly married to a Malaysian man who disappeared soon after the birth of the child in 1999. - Mkini
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