Lawas nine-year-old stopped from attending school due to citizenship woes

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Jeanny shows her birth certificate together with parents Ating and Ruran.

LAWAS (Feb 24): Jeanny Lianna Ating loved going to school at SK Long Sebangang.

She completed Primary 1 in 2020 and had been attending Primary 2 for two months last year when her mother Ruran Lukas received a devastating text message saying Jeanny would no longer be allowed to go to school.

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“When I received the message, my heart sank. I cannot imagine her future without an education.

“She loved to go to school and meet with her friends. However, when we got the message, I had a hard time explaining to her that she could longer go to school due to her citizenship status,” Ruran told The Borneo Post.

The 40-year-old, whose nationality is officially Indonesian despite being born and raised in Sarawak, and husband Ating Agong, 55, have six children.

The eldest daughter was born in 1998, followed by another girl in 2000, a son in 2001, another daughter in 2004, Jeanny in 2013, and a boy in 2019.

Only their youngest is a Malaysian citizen.

This is because the couple only registered their marriage in 2006.

“It was because of Ruran’s citizenship status. Although she was born and bred here but her status in her birth certificate listed her as a non-citizen because both her parents are Indonesians.

“So, we had problems in registering our marriage both through Adat Lun Bawang and at the National Registration Department (JPN),” Ating explained.

It was only after Jeanny was born that they were informed that they could register their marriage.

“So, we did it in 2016. But because of the delay in registering the marriage, all of our first five children were denied access to school,” he said.

According to him, the two eldest girls – now 24 and 22 – managed to attend school until Form 3.

They dropped out when they could not sit for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) because they do not have identity documents.

Their eldest son, now 21, only finished Primary 6 as he was not allowed to attend secondary school because he too did not have identity documents.

Their now 18-year-old fourth child, dropped out before she was due to sit for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).

“And now we have to deal with Jeanny’s case. Even though her application for her citizenship status is still pending at the JPN, shouldn’t she be allowed to attend school?” questioned Ating.

He lamented that although he and Ruran were late in registering their marriage, Jeanny’s birth certificate clearly states that he is her father.

“The JPN told us that the process (to change Jeanny’s citizenship) could take up to six years. Just imagine, by the time she gets her citizenship, she can no longer attend school.

“It would be too late for her,” he pointed out.

He said the Lawas District Education Office has said unless they can furnish all the documents, Jeanny would not be allowed to return to school.

“No parents want to see their children living a miserable life because we know that only through education one has a bright future.

“Education is also a fundamental right and we want Jeanny to have that,” added Ating.