An 82-year-old former policeman, who is seeking citizenship for his two children, has been given a reprieve by the Kuala Lumpur High Court when it quashed the Home Ministry secretary-general’s order in not approving the application last year.

The basis for the secretary-general’s decision in rejecting M Ramanoojum’s application was the fact that his children R Thirupathi, 38, and R Meena, 32, are already Indian citizens.

Today, Justice Rohana Yusof quashed the secretary-general’s order.

However, she did not allow Ramanoojum’s application for an order to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to register his children.

With this, Ramanoojum would have to submit his application to the NRD again.

Ramanoojum has made the application as he wanted his children to take care of him after retiring from the police force.

He and his wife are Malaysian citizens. However, Thirupathi and Meena were born in India.

Ramanoojum, who hails from Melaka Street, Penang, filed the judicial review application on Nov 1, 2011.

hindraf btn 151209 manoharan His lawyer, M Manoharan ( right ), said the decision today represents an 80 percent victory and hopes that the NRD will facilitate Ramanoojum to get his children’s citizenship for them to care for him.

On Sept 21, last year the Home Ministry issued a letter saying it cannot process their application upon the discovery that they are Indian citizens.

Manoharan said that should not have been a problem as after gaining the Malaysian citizenship, the children are willing to drop their Indian citizenship.

Malaysians are not allowed to hold dual citizenship.

‘Consulate satisfied with citizenship status’

The Malaysian Consulate-General in Chennai, he said, has received Ramanoojum and his application for his two children in 2009.

“The consulate was satisfied with the status of Ramanoojum and his wife’s citizenship. I verily believe that my children have the right to be Malaysian citizens,” the former policeman stated in his affidavit.

Ramanoojum had written to Prime Minister Najib Razak last year to seek his assistance to speed up his application.

An aide to Najib had forwarded his request to the Home Ministry. However, its secretary-general rejected the application on the grounds they were Indian citizens.

Ramanoojum’s application was also supported by Penang Umno and Gerakan, which verified his service as a policeman for the country since the 1950s.