KUCHING: About 30 cases of children without birth certificates are reported in Sarawak each month.
Welfare, Community Well-Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah (pic) said these were children born in Sarawak to parents who were not married or foreign mothers.
“In order not to subject their children to such predicament, couples should take measures to avoid such situations,” she said yesterday.
She said she was pleased with the decision of the Education Ministry to allow these stateless children to have rights to education, just like any other children.
“This is at least one good decision by the Education Ministry to be implemented this year and credit must be given when it is due,” she pointed out.
Fatimah added the Pakatan Harapan government should give priority to citizenship applications under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution to shorten the waiting period for approval.
“Although these stateless children are allowed to go to school now, it is not good for their self-esteem to be stateless,” she pointed out, adding that her ministry had set a special committee to assist stateless children to apply for citzenzhip.
She stressed that the children still needed their citizenship status for purposes such as school assistance, tertiary education, application for scholarship or loans, job application, welfare assistance and others.
“Now schools, the National Registration Department, parents and community leaders will need to work strategically together to bring back children who have dropped out from school due to their stateless status,” said Fatimah.
