Six-year citizenship wait for top student over
Stateless STPM top scorer Roisah Abdullah's six-year wait for citizenship came to an end today after her application was finally approved by the government.
Roisah attributed today's outcome to the cooperation and help accorded by many parties, including Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and her teachers...
Stateless STPM top scorer Roisah Abdullah's six-year wait for citizenship came to an end today after her application was finally approved by the government.
Roisah attributed today's outcome to the cooperation and help accorded by many parties, including Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and her teachers.
“Syukur alhamdulillah... This is truly a huge gift for me, a birthday gift for me in light of my birthday which will be on April 25, and I am shocked and thrilled as I have waited so long, and now to be granted (citizenship) rights in front of my eyes," she told reporters at the Home Ministry headquarters in Putrajaya today.
Roisah was accompanied today by Zuraida, as well as Kapar PKR welfare bureau representative Sathiya Murthy.
Left without a birth certificate and identity card, Roisah, despite scoring 3As in her STPM examinations, had been unable to apply to local universities. She also scored 7As in her SPM, and straight As in her PMR examinations.
Adopted by a Malaysian family soon after she was born in a Klang clinic to an unknown father and foreign mother, Roisah lost her adoptive mother in 2014.
This left her without a legal guardian, which is a requirement for citizenship applications.
'Life will change'
It was reported recently that Zuraida filed to become Roisah's legal guardian after being moved by the student's continued striving towards academic excellence, despite her personal struggles and her statelessness.
Elaborating further, Roisah said she had previously applied for citizenship in 2013 but was rejected, and tried again the following year.
“My family had to pay a levy of RM240 a year to the state education department for me to go to school as foreign student."
Her application was approved on March 12, which she said has enabled her to settle many outstanding affairs, including furthering her studies at public university.
“Prior to this, I was unable to open a bank account, apply for a car license, and was unable to withdraw money needed for high expenses, such as medical treatment at a private clinic.
“Now with citizenship status, my life is sure to change,” she said.
Rosiah's first step after this will be to obtain an LRT card so she may travel to and from University Tun Abdul Razak, where she is studying accounting.
Sathiya, meanwhile, expressed his joy at the outcome of Roisah’s case, saying it was the culmination of years of struggle.
“I question, what has this child done to have her rights denied? Why oppress her? That is the question,” he told reporters.
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