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PETALING JAYA: A stateless Malaysian woman has suffered a “regrettable human rights injustice” over a court decision rejecting her citizenship application, human rights groups say.
Ranee Sreedharan, a lawyer representing Human Resource Development for Rural Areas, said that the Federal Constitution must be interpreted liberally and that the courts also have a duty to uphold fundamental human rights through their decisions.
Maalini Ramalo, director of social protection for DHRRA Malaysia, said that “the system continues to punish people who are abandoned and have no control over how they were born or left behind.”
On Thursday, the High Court dismissed a citizenship application filed by Johor-born Tan Soo Yin, 37, after he could not prove that his biological parents were Malaysian citizens.
Tan said she had no knowledge of her biological parents, who abandoned her after she was born in a hospital.
Maalini said that the Federal Constitution contains safeguards to protect people who would otherwise be without citizenship.
He said there was a human rights obligation to address loopholes in the law that “continue to punish the victim.” Countries around the world have progressively amended their laws to ensure the protection of foundlings, abandoned or even adopted without a nationality, he said.
Ranee said Malaysia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says that the best interests of a child should be a primary consideration in all actions related to children, whether carried out by public or private welfare institutions, courts of justice, administrative authorities. or legislative bodies,
Elia Bit, director of the Penan Empowerment Networking Association, urged the Interior Ministry to review laws and policies involving children who were adopted by new families.
He said that there were many cases in Baram, Sarawak, which are similar to Tan’s.
“One of them is Jeffrey Nyaru, 26, a Penan from Batu Bungan Baram, who was adopted by a Penan couple. His adoptive parents acquired an adoption certificate from the Marudi district office, but Jeffrey still has a temporary resident identity card, ”he said.
He said the High Court’s dismissal of Tan’s case was unfair, as he had been living in Malaysia for more than three decades with no criminal record.
“The saddest thing is that their children will also suffer the same fate. Our country still does not have a clear line to address issues related to citizenship ”.
Tan told the Superior Court that he had a temporary resident identity card since he was 19 years old. Tan’s daughter has also been denied citizenship and a MyKad. She only has a birth certificate, while her brother has been recognized as a Malaysian citizen for being in the care of relatives.
Pro Bono lawyer Nurainie Haziqah said it was “absolutely frustrating” that Tan, an orphan from birth, was forced to prove her parents’ nationality. “This injustice will definitely have an impact on the failed enforcement of stateless cases in the future,” he said.
