YOURSAY | Tragic end to a stateless person

 

YOURSAY | ‘Lina is a victim of government apathy and little Napoleons.’

Cancer patient in MyKad controversy passes away

Koel: Wow, National Registration Department. You could be world-famous for this brutal treatment of a terminally ill person. Get it through the thick skulls that you are dealing with human beings.

The reason people sometimes don't have their legitimate documentation may be that those in charge lack competence, diligence and timeliness in carrying out their duties.

This is why you have these tragic cases. The head of this department sitting in this Lawas office should be hauled up for an explanation and given a severe reprimand. Asking for him to be booted out is like asking for the moon, of course.

Proarte: This whole episode makes a mockery of Malaysia Madani because there was a shocking lack of compassion shown by the authorities.

Surely, belonging to the indigenous community living in the interior of Sarawak, it is possible her community historically did also live in North Kalimantan, which borders Lawas, Sarawak.

Sadly, the indigenous communities in Sarawak have had a raw deal by having their lands stolen, logged and flooded due to the dubious need to construct dams.

As a result, their traditional way of life and culture has irrevocably been destroyed. How can Lina and her children be ''stateless'' when they have lived in Sarawak all their lives? Why was her MyKad confiscated?

If it was claimed that her children's birth certificates stated she was Indonesian, how did she acquire a MyKad in the first place?

The least Sarawak authorities can do is to recognise their right to statehood and give them healthcare facilities to which Sarawakian citizens are entitled.

Man on the Silver Mountain: This is a case of a person grappling with the NRD over her citizenship until the day she died. How ironic.

Here we have a three-generation family living and residing in a remote village in Malaysia.

Due to their lack of education and poverty, they never had proper birth documents, which caused them to be stateless. Nobody cared, sympathised or was willing to help them.

The authorities heartlessly laid their mighty power and authority upon her, and in her helplessness, became stateless overnight, not knowing any better.

Lina Samuel will be buried without having to have her identity as a Malaysian, the place where she lived all her life.

Then there are stories of foreigners who easily obtained their citizenship without any such trial and tribulation. What a strangely different world she had lived in despite being in the same country.

World Citizen: Thousands of Indian and Chinese seniors in Malaysia do not have their citizenship, all because of the overzealous little Napoleons in the NRD.

The policies may be clear, but these poor Indians and Chinese as well as those in rural Sabah and Sarawak are the victims of these little Napoleons who show their power and deny these people the right to their citizenship.

This has been going on for decades and successive governments have failed or ignored this problem as it does not feed into their political agenda.

Lina is a victim of apathy by the government and the hegemony of little Napoleons.

Determined Sarawakian: Sabah and Sarawak, please, ensure that the land of “Kenyalang” and “Beneath the Wind” isn't confiscated by roping in Little Napoleon policies arising in the peninsula.

Try and have more East Malaysians running the government instead of overzealous' brainwashed Little Napoleons. Administer governance based on the path of humanity and righteousness.

BlueShark1548: Condolences to her family. Have faith and hope. Lina has left us with a lasting legacy. She has drawn attention to Lawas and its residents and that of others in the country regarding the problems of being stateless.

I hope that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will address this decades-old issue as soon as possible, as stateless people have minimal rights in our country.

What makes it worse is that they are our citizens but, through no fault of their own, they are stateless!

GreenFalcon8572: Take a look at the timeline. Her MyKad was taken away back before the 15th general election. This was before the unity governments' time. Yes, the unity government needs to correct this (and similar) issues but point the blame in the right direction.

At least Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail offered a temporary document for her to continue receiving treatment and she did receive treatments at Miri Hospital before the news broke in April.

BOBBYO: How many VIPs or connected people's documents are fast-forwarded and their citizenship applications approved? Some of them weren't even born in this country.

If the department is audited for approving permanent resident (PR) and citizenship to those who do not deserve the rights, it will open a can of worms.

Meanwhile, those who are born here are rejected and given a run around due to technical reasons.

So, what if Lina was declared to be an Indonesian? How about her background? How many years had she stayed here?

How about her children? Is it now too late to correct the mistakes? Perhaps there is a chance to repent by helping her family.

We have to correct our mistakes for the thousands that are facing the same fate.

Rest in peace, Lina. May what you have gone through shine a light on the authorities to correct their attitude to look at this scenario from a more humane perspective. - Mkini