Cherish Kaur Jagender Singh was born in a local hospital, but her birth certificate does not state that she is a citizen.
The 7-year-old, whose mother is from the Philippines and father is Malaysian, was born three months prior to her parents’ marriage registration in Petaling Jaya.
However, six years after submitting applications and cross-checking with the National Registration Department (NRD), the child is still not a citizen. Her plight was highlighted to Actionline by her mother’s friend, Sunita Thomas.
She said the two applications for Cherish’s citizenship since the parents’ marriage in 2011 had been shot down by the department.
“The rejection was communicated to the parents two years after their two initial submissions were made.
“And, there was only one line stating that the application was rejected. There was no explanation why.”
“The third application made by her father in mid-2015 is pending. The officer the father checked with on Jan 5 this year noted by pen on the submission receipt that the matter had been sent to the Home Ministry in June 2016.
“Does it take one year for NRD to process the application?” she said, adding that Cherish’s father is a taxi driver, who loses at least a day’s wages whenever he has to make an application or check on it at the NRD headquarters in Putrajaya.
Sunita said that in the meantime, the parents were unable to open a bank account for her and the girl did not have access to public healthcare. The father earns about RM2,500, while the mother does odd jobs.
Until the Education Ministry’s 2009 circular resurfaced, which stated that undocumented children born to Malaysian parents can be enrolled in government schools with a verification letter from their community heads, her enrolment in school had also been pending.
“But now that her schooling is sorted out, I hope NRD expedites her citizenship. It should not discriminate against her,” she added.
ACTIONLINE: National Registration Department checks found that Cherish’s father had made three applications for Malaysian citizenship under 15(A) or citizenship for those under 21, within special circumstances.
The department spokesman said the two applications prior to this were unsuccessful, confirming that the latest submission was in June 2015.
“The application is being weighed. The applicant will be informed of all decisions based on the correspondence address provided to us when the submission was made.”