At 25 years old, most young adults are busy living life. They may be adjusting to the working life, finishing or starting their studies, or even getting married! However, for this young man from Kedah, his life has been forcibly stopped after he lost his chance at getting a Malaysian citizenship!
The 25-year-old has been living in Malaysia all his life. His mother is Thai but his father is Malaysian. As such, when he was born, he applied for a Malaysian citizenship. However, it was discovered that his parents’ marriage may not be legal. Then recently, he was advised to delete details from his birth certificate, leading to him losing his application for citizenship.
The victim, referred to as Ke Yadi (柯亚狄), is from Kulim, Kedah. He currently works at LCK Food Paradise (海鲜煮炒员工) for a living. However, he has not been able to live life beyond that. As he does not have a citizenship, the 25-year-old is unable to apply for things, such as a driver’s license or even a bank card.
According to him, his family had attempted to apply for a MyKad for him at the age of 12. However, authorities confiscated his birth certificate, claiming his parents’ marriage certificate were suspected of being fake. They had then contacted his parents regarding his application in 2016. “But I believe (because) my father is not well educated, he did not understand the official letters,” the victim said. He also added that his Thai mother had left them when he turned eight.
At that time, the NRD had apparently asked his parents to apply for his adoption. However, as they missed the request, the victim also missed the chance to obtain a Malaysian citizenship. Unfortunately, this flew under their radar and the victim attempted to apply for citizenship again when he was 17.
Then, in 2019, the NRD requested he delete his father’s details from his birth certificate. Apparently, at the time, his only acknowledged parent was his Thai mother. However, after deleting the information, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent him a letter on 7th April 2022. They informed him that his application had once again been rejected. When asked why, he was told that as his father was no longer legally related to him, his nationality could not be Malaysian.
“I was born in Malaysia and have lived here since I was a child,” the victim stated in a recent press conference. “I don’t want to go to another country as I won’t be used to it.” He also added that he hopes to get an identification card soon as life without it is extremely inconvenient.
National Registration Department Penang officer Yeap Choon Keong stated that there are only two ways for him to resolve his problem. He either needs to hold a foreign passport until he can marry a local woman, or he will need to leave for his birth mother’s country. However, the officer also hopes that the Ministry of Home Affairs will be kind when judging this case.
We sincerely hope the victim will be able to resolve his issue soon. After all, it is definitely frustrating to have lived in Malaysia for so long but not be recognised as a citizen.
Sources: China Press
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