KUCHING: The process of obtaining citizenship should be simplified, said a local non-governmental organisation (NGO).
Persatuan Pembangunan Insan Sarawak (PPIS) president Manjeet Kaur Sidhu said the whole process is tedious and appealed to the relevant departments to simplify the citizenship application procedures.
“I have handled almost 100 of such cases and there is a lot of running around back and forth that needs to be done.
“I believe that the relevant departments should have a proper checklist so that it will become less running around.
“For me who is educated, I understand the whole process and its procedure but what about those who are illiterate? All these running around might cause them to give up halfway during the process because there are so many things that need to be done.
“The process also involves money because they have to hire a lawyer (which approximately cost RM6,000) and travel around from one department to another to get their documentation sorted out. It will become tedious, especially to the B40,” she said when met by the media at the National Registration Department yesterday (Aug 19).
Explaining the latest case that she was handling, she said the three children of Willy (Indonesian citizen) who married a Bidayuh woman here ‘became’ stateless.
“This started when his wife was about to deliver her fourth baby and at that time, he did not have money to pay for the delivery in the hospital.
“When he registered their marriage late (because they were married ‘kampung style’), their children (17, 14, and nine years old) become stateless.
“This fact made their children unable to go to school due to their status and they have been left out of school for more than two years,” she said.
Realising the importance of education for the children, Manjeet started to work on their citizenship matter.
“We should not let any child be neglected just because of this matter. That is why I went to their school with the concept of ‘budi bicara’ to let them continue going to school while I work on their documents.
“All in all, the process took a whole four months as I had to hire a lawyer first, then get a court order, and from there had to go to various departments to get the paperwork in place.
“Seeing that their eldest daughter’s time is limited (as she needs to sit for SPM soon), I see that this whole process should have a better approach.
“Nevertheless, despite the hurdles, we finally got their documentation approved and they are now no longer stateless,” she said.
While stating that the children will be getting their approved citizenship documents within this month, she called on any stateless person who needs help to approach PPIS.
“We will try our best to help you. And for the YBs, if there are any of such cases happening in your constituency, do not hesitate to contact us. We can sit down, compromise and work on it,” she added.
At the same time, the New Sarawak Tribune managed to meet two of Willy’s children to share their thoughts on the matter.
Illa Willy, 17, who wants to become a doctor, shared her joy knowing that she could soon return to school.
“When I was asked to drop out of school due to my stateless status, I was devastated. It was an unfair situation for me because other children can go toschool but I can’t?
“Nevertheless, despite missing most of the school sessions, I will try my best to achieve my dreams. For that, I would like to thank PPIS for providing me an opportunity to go back to school,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ivy Willy, 14, shared her excitement of being able to go back to school.
“I could not go to school since Form 1 due to my stateless status and having a pink certificate. Now, with the opportunity given, I will try my best to achieve my
