While the plight of 22-year-old Rohana Abdullah being abandoned by her Indonesian mother as a two-month-old baby and having to live as a stateless person has attracted the attention of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, her case is not an isolated incident.
This is according to Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching (above) who sought to impress on the prime minister and home minister that there are many similar cases and implored them to resolve the issue of stateless children.
"There are countless tragic encounters and experiences every stateless person goes through while living in Malaysia.
"While I am glad for Rohana as her plight has drawn the attention of Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin and even the prime minister, the question is how about other stateless children facing very similar tragic and not to mention traumatic experiences?
"When will their predicament be finally heard?" she asked in a statement.
Teo said if Ismail Sabri and Hamzah are serious about ending the suffering and tragedy experienced by Rohana, they should equally commit to assisting all other stateless children and acknowledge policy gaps.
Rohana's mother, who worked at a kindergarten, abandoned her at the premises. She was married to a Malaysian man who disappeared shortly after Rohana was born in 1999.
Rohana was raised by now 83-year-old Chee Hoi Lan who was a teacher at the kindergarten and brought her up according to the practices of the Muslim faith.
Chee applied for citizenship for Rohana in 2016 but there had been no response to date.
Hamzah said he was touched by the interfaith adoption and will look into Rohana's plight.
Ismail Sabri has also given his commitment to assist Rohana.
DNA test report
Teo reiterated that the government should allow all stateless children whose father is a Malaysian to be granted citizenship by producing a DNA test report as evidence.
The National Registration Department (NRD) has refused to accept DNA evidence.
Teo said all stateless children who are legally adopted by Malaysian parents should also be granted citizenship.
"Can all stateless persons in the country trust the Keluarga Malaysia government to find a permanent solution to end their misery?
"Or do they need to wait for their time to get media exposure before they receive calls from the prime ministers and the assurance of the home minister?" she said.
Suffering from bureaucracy
Meanwhile, rights group Lawyers for Liberty head coordinator Zaid Malek, in welcoming Hamzah's statement, said reactive solutions are inadequate to resolve root causes of the statelessness issue.
"It is not good enough to react to adverse news coverage on a single issue with promises of action, and then go back to ignoring the tens of thousands with similar problems like Rohana," said Zaid in a statement.
"The facts are clear, and there is no need for lengthy investigations or bureaucratic processes. Rohana and her adoptive mother have suffered long enough.
"Nevertheless, Hamzah must realise that he bears heavy responsibility for the ordeal of tens of thousands of young people like Rohana who are unjustly deprived of citizenship," he said.
In noting that there are tens of thousands of children and young adults who share Rohana's situation, Zaid said their sufferings also deserve equal attention from the government.
"The home minister should be reminded that Rohana and those like her are unfortunate victims of deliberate bureaucratic processes that persistently fail to uphold the Federal Constitution, which accords foundlings citizenship by operation of law.
"The impact that this has on them cannot be understated; being stateless deprives them of many opportunities in life such as education, healthcare, and occupation," he said.
To reach out to others like Rohana, Zaid said the administrative machinery of the Home Ministry and the NRD cannot depend on news coverage of random cases.
Instead, he said more work must be done through ensuring relevant state organs properly execute their function in accordance with the law.
"Hence, if the home minister is truly touched by Rohana’s situation, as he claimed, we urge him to revamp the policies of the Home Ministry and the NRD so others in similar situations would not be rendered stateless, in contravention of the Constitution," he said. - Mkini
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