For Malaysians born after 1957, citizenship is something that we take for granted. But this was not the case for a group of 34 elderly folks from Sabak Bernam, Selangor.

senior citizen apply citizenship 210110 group They have to overcome language barriers and government bureaucracy in order to be the conferred the status of citizen. These people have never traveled abroad or voted in a general election.

Yesterday, the group journeyed to the Registration Department in Putrajaya to attend an interview for citizenship, their 12th attempt in recent years to acquire a MyKad.

senior citizen apply citizenship 210110 tuition class The delegation was led by Sabak Bernam councillor Ng Swee Lee, who was approached by some of the applicants after Selangor fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat in March 2008.

Most of the applicants, some of whom are illiterate, hail from fishing villages in the area.

In order to help them secure their citizenship, Lim tutored them in Bahasa Malaysia on a weekly basis.

She also compiled a dossier which included information about the national flag, Rukun Negara, Bunga Raya, national history and national leaders.

senior citizen apply citizenship 210110 tuition negaraku She even had the national anthem written down in Chinese characters so that they would be able to sing the song when asked to do so(left).

Dress code woes

However, their attempt hit a snag when some of the applicants failed to adhere to the dress code, showing up for the interview in shorts, t-shirts and jeans.

senior citizen apply citizenship 210110 tuition bunga raya After Ng's attempt to negotiate with the officers failed, the male applicants were forced to share a pair of long pants among them while one woman applicant purchased a Baju Kurung from a nearby shop.

The applicants were then interviewed by two officers for about five to 10 minutes.

 

In another twist, it is learnt that an applicant was told by one of the interviewing officers that the result of the interview would only be known in two or three years.

Ng said a check showed that the registration department would have to conduct a background scan to ensure that the applicants had no criminal records.

senior citizen apply citizenship 210110 red mykad "In the digital age, it is hoped that such a search would not consume so much of time,” she added.

The eldest among the group, Wong Shu Chin, 72, said although she understood Malay, she could only speak in the Teo Chew dialect.

The mother of 10 lamented that although she attended the tuition classes, it was hard for her to remember the facts.

Among others, Wong said during the interview she was asked to identify the national flag.