KOTA KINABALU: Two undocumented teenage siblings are struggling to survive after being left by their Malaysian mother, says the Sabah Immigration Department.
It said that both siblings have never attended school due to their lack of legal papers, and with the sister staying home to care for their grandmother, a holder of the IMM13 pass issued in the 1970s for Filipino refugees while her younger brother works odd jobs to support the family.
Their plight came to light when they were recently detained in a raid by the Sabah Immigration Department in Sipitang, alongside 213 others.
After a screening exercise, 35 adults, comprising 18 Filipino males, 16 Filipino females and an Indonesian woman, and 29 children - 12 boys and 17 girls, aged between a month and 79-year-old, were further detailed for failing to produce valid documents.
These operations, as part of a wider crackdown in Beaufort and Sipitang, are targeting illegal settlements and construction sites.
Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said the case of the siblings is a testament to a significant social issue.
"Our officers discovered that the children were never documented after their parents' divorce, leaving them in their paternal grandmother's care," she said.
According to Sitti Saleha, they have lost touch with their mother, presumed to be in Kuala Lumpur, and their only link to Malaysian citizenship is their older sister in Tenom, who has an identification card.
She added that the elder sister has secured her documentation, but the two younger siblings remain without papers. "Their Christian elder sister has vouched for her younger Muslim siblings," she said, stressing the similarities in their physical features.
The case has now been forwarded to the National Registration Department, where the siblings will undergo DNA testing to ascertain their citizenship.
Sitti Saleha pointed out that the siblings are fortunate to have a verifiable local relative, which many children in their situation lack.
"It's vital for marriages to be properly registered and for children to be documented," she added.
The importance of legal processes in determining lineage, especially under Islamic law, was also highlighted by Sitti Saleha.
"Non-Muslim cases go through civil registration, while Muslim cases involve the Syariah Court to establish lineage. If claims are simple and verifiable by DNA, the court addresses them," she said.
While these cases are not widespread, Sitti Saleha added that there is an urgency when it comes to finding solutions.
"We need to take action to safeguard future generations and our social fabric," she said.
