PUTRAJAYA: Finally, after several applications were rejected, stateless and outstanding student Roisah Abdullah received her Malaysian citizenship today.
Roisah who will be celebrating her 22nd birthday next month arrived at the Home Ministry here with her foster mother, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, to collect her citizenship approval letter.
Looking bright and cheerful, Roisah said she could not wait to enjoy the facilities provided for Malaysians including access to healthcare services, opening a bank account and obtaining a driving licence.
“I want to apply for the LRT travel pass first,“ she told reporters when asked what was the first thing she would do after getting an identity card.
The STPM top student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (Perempuan) Kapar, Klang who scored 3As, 1B was previously reported to have difficulties in furthering her studies as she had no identification documents.
Roisah was reportedly delivered to a foreign woman at a clinic in Klang. There were no details of her Malaysian father but she was later adopted by a Malay family and raised in Malaysia.
Following the report, Roisah received an offer to pursue a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Tun Abdul Razak University (UniRazak) last year.
Meanwhile, Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP, said she was called to assist Roisah after the issue was brought to her attention by several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in May last year.
“I found that this is a genuine case and she had been denied a citizenship. I was willing to adopt her if that would help.
“So I applied and got a court order to be her adoptive parent. That’s how it started,“ she said.
Meanwhile, Zuraida said the government was concerned with the issue of non-citizenship throughout the country and was implementing the necessary steps to resolve the matter. — Bernama
