KUCHING: Wennie Liaw Tze Shyan has big dreams – she wants to get a good education, and a job, in order to support her family.
But her dream is set to be unfulfilled if she fails to obtain one of the most important documents a citizen needs – the MyKad.
“Her three siblings have all gotten their citizenship. If they can have theirs, why can’t Wennie?
“We have applied twice, once in 2012 and again in 2014. Until now, there is no news,” lamented the parents of the 19-year-old.
It’s the same situation for Liew Ye Siong, whose foster father, a Sarawakian, applied for the 10-year-old boy’s citizenship in 2012 but only silence followed.
Ye Siong was born in Samarahan near here and he has the necessary adoption papers.
Meanwhile, another 10-year-old, Elisya Selly, could not apply for citizenship prior to this as her mother is a foreigner.
“When Elisya was born, I did not have a Malaysian citizenship but in 2010, I received my MyKad.
“I have applied multiple times for my daughter’s citizenship but did not get any response from the authorities,” the mother said.
Two other children faced the same predicament, with one of the parents a citizen and the other a non-citizen.
Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang yesterday urged the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department to give the five stateless children their citizenship.
“These children are innocent, and they should not have to go through all this just to have their citizenship,” he said.
Lo urged authorities to look into this matter and treat the cases fairly and use common sense to make a decision.
“Do not follow the book blindly. Make sensible decisions because these children have done nothing wrong and they will not have a good future without their citizenship,” he said.
He added that the cases had been referred to Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
