Dato Seri Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: The new policy requiring stateless children to produce passports to enrol in government schools will definitely affect many stateless children in Sarawak, says Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said that as of 2019, the Sarawak Special Committee on Citizenship under Article 15A of which she once chaired, received 723 applications.
“There could be more, it does not include applications that were submitted directly to Home Affairs Ministry before the establishment of this special committee.
“Reasons for application under 15A by Malaysian parents are on behalf of their adopted foreign children or children who have been abandoned and placed in welfare homes.
“Other reasons are improper registration of the adopted children, children born before marriage, children born to parents who are not married and the mother is a foreigner,” she said when contacted yesterday.
She was asked to comment on an issue that was reported in Penang by Malay Mail on Feb 2, about stateless children adopted by Malaysian parents who could not enrol in government schools unless they produce their passports under a new policy that started this year.
Fatimah said before this, special consideration were given to stateless children from welfare homes to enter government schools.
As for others, children were allowed to attend government schools if the parents could provide proof that application for citizenship under 15A is done and pending result from the ministry, she said.
“Denying children their basic rights to education is cruel. Most parents come from low income group and thus cannot afford to send them to private schools.
“In the end, these stateless children have no access to education, to training opportunities, health and welfare benefits provided by the government. What about pribumi children who do have documents such as birth certificate and identity card? Are they also denied access to education?” she questioned.
Fatimah appealed to the Education Ministry to understand the predicament faced by these children who did not ask to be born this way in the first place.
“We also would like to appeal to the ministry to speed up the application of the genuine cases. The longer the delay, the greater risk of these children facing bleak future in a land of plenty,” she said.