Muhammad Aldridge is still stateless.
PETALING JAYA: The movie Abang Adik may have shed some light on the perils of being deprived of citizenship but statelessness is a perennial problem that has existed for decades.
Despite being born and bred in Malaysia, several people of different walks of life have found themselves in limbo due to the lack of personal documents.
Muhammad Aldridge John Bilones, 34, who was born to a Malaysian father and Filipino mother in Lahad Datu, Sabah, had no idea he was stateless until he had to apply for an identification card (IC) when he was 12. He even had a birth certificate that said he was a citizen.
“The (IC application) process started well at first, but when I returned to the National Registration Department (NRD) office with my father, we were told that there was some complication and more time was needed.
“Then, my family moved to the peninsula for a better livelihood. My father went to the NRD office in Putrajaya where he was told that my IC ‘issue’ needed to be settled in Sabah instead,” he said.
As a result he had to appeal to continue his secondary education and enrolled into Form 1 a year later.
“In 2008 after I finished SPM, I realised the importance of IC as I couldn’t get into university,” said Muhammad who wanted to pursue an IT course.
He was asked to resign from a company he worked at because he could not sign up for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Socso accounts without an IC.
He has since been taking up odd jobs including as a cleaner and plumber. Without a bank account, Muhammad Aldridge is also worried that he has no savings for the future.
Several attempts to apply for citizenship were unsuccessful although two of his siblings are Malaysian citizens. He claimed that an NRD officer even advised him to apply for a Filipino passport based on his mother’s citizenship.
Muhammad Aldridge is still stateless.
“I even tried consulting a lawyer, but the legal fees was too high at about RM20,000... my family couldn’t afford it,” he said, adding that to date there was no explanation as to why his applications were rejected.
“I need guidance to solve the problem but I have been diverted to various departments instead,” he said.
Muhammad Aldridge was also extremely concerned about his child’s future.
“I was relieved when I got to know that my child is Malaysian on the birth certificate,” he said while sobbing.
Although it has been over a year since Suki Wong Pei Yee’s statelessness story made headlines, the 12-year-old, who is caring for her stroke-stricken single father following the death of her Vietnamese mother, has yet to get her citizenship.
She is stateless as her parents’ marriage was not officially registered. Her story prompted several good Samaritans to come to the family’s aid and one even sponsored her education at a private school.
Her father, Wong Kon Foo, 59, said he would continue to fight for Suki’s citizenship and in the meantime he wanted his daughter to continue her studies.
“I believe education is the most important thing. I just hope I can witness her graduation,” he said.
However, the duo had not been receiving much assistance off late and are now primarily relying on the RM300 monthly assistance from the Social Welfare Department to survive.
Tan Jun Lok, 28, did not know of his stateless status until he entered secondary school in 2008.
“On the second day of school, I was in class and got called to the office. I was then told by a school officer that I could not study there because I do not have an IC.
“At that point, I did not understand why and I was upset wondering why everyone could stay in class and I couldn’t,” said Tan, who is currently a chief executive officer of a local manufacturing company.
Tan, who could not apply for a blue IC that granted citizenship, then proceeded to apply for a red IC with a permanent residence status that year itself.
“It took me about two years to finally get the red IC under the term of an adopted child.
“It was the courts that approved the adoption and eventually gave me a red IC. I was told that I’m considered a stateless child even though I was born in Malaysia.
“There are hundreds like me who are stateless. What about those that we don’t know about? Most of us are born and have lived here our entire lives just like any regular Malaysian,” said Tan, hoping for his blue IC application to be approved soon.
A 28-year-old investment adviser who only wanted to be known as Chang was worried about his two-year-old daughter who had a red birth certificate, which is issued to non-citizens, because he did not register his marriage with his Thai wife.
Despite countless visits to the NRD over two years for paperwork, his attempts had been unsuccessful thus far.
“There is a six month period to complete all applications. But, every time we went there, they said certain documents were missing,” said Chang, whose wife and daughter had to return to Bangkok every four months.
After relentlessly trying for 33 years, R. Ragu, 48, obtained his citizenship in 2020.
“I was born in Malaysia but just because I did not have a family, I could not prove anything,” he said, adding that he was abandoned as a child and grew up in shelters.
Only after he gave the NRD an ultimatum that he would protest in front of the palace if they failed to look into his case, it was resolved.
“Three weeks later I received a letter,” he said.
He said he could only speak but was illiterate as he did not receive proper education due to the lack of documents.
“It was very difficult to move around, get a place to stay or get a job without a document,” said Ragu who is now doing odd jobs for a living.
