United Kingdom authorities today confirmed that one of three women allegedly held as slaves in London for 30 years is a Malaysian who goes by the name of Aishah Wahab, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today that access to further details was restricted and subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 under the UK local laws because the case was still under investigation.

“The local authorities have yet to allow direct access to the individual.

“The Malaysian High Commission will extend full cooperation to the parties involved to help in the investigation,” it said.

The ministry, through the high commission in London, has been monitoring the status of the woman, said to be have been born on May 27, 1944.

The ministry said the high commission would take follow-up measures to ascertain the status of the woman in terms of the law.

“If she had lost her Malaysian citizenship unwittingly and has been stateless over the past 30 years, the high commission will cooperate with the authorities to restore her citizenship.

“Consular assistance will be extended to the victim and members of her family, as appropriate and necessary,” the ministry said.

Last Saturday, the media reported that the 69-year-old was one of three women who were freed on Oct 25 after one of them secretly contacted a charity organisation. The two others are an Irish woman and a Briton.

Aishah, who has hitherto been known as Siti Aisyah, hails from Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, and had left the country in 1968 to pursue her studies at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. She is said to have been influenced by some political ideology and neglected her studies.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar yesterday confirmed the identity of the woman as Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab and said she had been wanted in the country in the 1970s for leftist activities.  

- Bernama