Fatimah (right) with representatives from Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) and Sadia at her office in Kuching yesterday.
KUCHING: Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) representatives made a surprise call on Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Datuk Fatimah Abdullah at her office here yesterday morning.
They had wanted to discuss issues concerning stateless Rika Herline.
Rika and her family, lawyer Simon Siah, S4S leader Peter John Jaban, and his wife, Karen Shepherd, were welcomed by Fatimah, who said she was surprised by their visit.
She, however, politely requested them to visit her at 2pm as she was attending several meetings then.
Rika, 17, has to stop schooling at SMK Tebakang because she has no MyKad despite her birth certificate proving that she was born in Malaysia.
She has twice applied for her MyKad—in 2013 and 2015—but both attempts were futile.
Her father, Ji-in Ngampu, recently said his wife was an Indonesian and that their two other children have Mykads. Rika is their eldest child.
Meanwhile, Peter said in a statement that his group hoped not only to resolve Rika’s predicament but also to have changes made to the National Registration Department (NRD)’s requirements for citizenship.
“Our priority is to settle Rika’s case first. We realise it will take up to two years (for her application for MyKad) to be processed,” said Peter.
“Two years is a significant amount of time: lives can be made or destroyed during this period. A child kept out of education for two years can never return, and the impact is immeasurable, not just academically but socially and emotionally, too.”
He pointed out that Rika was a talented athlete, having won countless medals from representing SMK Tebakang.
“She might have been the next (diving queen) Pandelela (Rinong Pamg).”
There are numerous cases similar to the one haunting Rika, and Peter opined a systematic way must be crafted to resolve all these problems.
“A case-by-case approach is neither an effective solution nor a fair way to determine citizenship. It is time for NRD to amend their administrative procedures to fit the needs of those affected.”
Siah said the ‘adat’ had developed over hundreds of years to settle matters at family and community levels, and it was exactly the same principle as Common Law within the British and Malaysian legal system.
“The need for certificate is merely a modern administrative requirement; therefore, NRD must find a realistic way to allow all these couples who comply under the law to achieve their rights, not to bar them from citizenship on a technicality.”