Stateless Woman Born In M'sia & Her 3 Kids Detained To Face Deportation
Their future in Malaysia is put into question.
By Jasmine Chea — 19 Jul 2022, 06:13 PM
A 36-year-old, Johor-born mother recently alleged that she and her three children were unlawfully detained by the Immigration Department
According to Malay Mail, despite her parents being from Indonesia, the woman who is only known as D, was born in a government hospital in Johor and should be entitled to Malaysian citizenship along with the rights that come with it.
She also mentions her mother has already been a permanent resident of Malaysia since 1984.
Although D and her three children have never left Malaysian soil their entire lives, she and her children are still considered stateless individuals.
They have been detained and held in a detention centre since 1 July, and D is concerned for her and her children's welfare
D's bid to renew her temporary identification documents was reportedly rejected by the National Registration Department due to unknown reasons. This allegedly led to her arrest.
She is mainly concerned with her children's welfare if they are deported to Indonesia. Having no relatives or support system there, her children would be in harm's way especially due to the fact that the children have never been to a foreign country before.
They will also continue to remain stateless in Indonesia, where they will not have any rights there as well.
M, D's mother and biological grandmother to the three children, is doing her utmost best to see that her family is freed from detention
M, first learnt of the arrest with the help of non-profit organisation Buku Jalanan Chow Kit.
M believes that immigration officers had no right to detain her daughter and grandchildren. She also mentioned that the arrest was in violation of the Immigration Act and the Federal Constitution under Articles 5 and 8.
And because the arrest involved minors, the arrest was in breach of the Child Act 2001 as well.
"I believe the applicants were arrested and detained not because they have committed any offences," she said.
The lawyers helping her with the case assured M that they would be fighting for D's citizenship rights to be recognised.
Netizens professed their dissatisfaction with the Malaysian Immigration's decision to deport the family of four
With the Malay Mail article being reposted on Twitter, many netizens took the opportunity to express their anger at the situation.
One Twitter user wrote, "The Malaysian government, specifically the Immigration and the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), are so cruel. Dear KDN Minister @dhzhamzah, the mother was born in Malaysia and deserves citizenship. The children were born here as well. Why would you toss away children under 12 years?"
Another user wrote, "This is very cruel. Even if you send them to Indonesia, would Indonesia even take them in?"
Communications consultant and broadcast journalist Tehmina Kasooji also weighed in on the issue by asking how this deportation case is reflective of Malaysia's national 2022 slogan, #KeluargaMalaysia.
Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago also decided to give his honest thoughts on the matter.
The family's future in Malaysia is still rocky
M's lawyers were informed that the family would be deported to Indonesia on 14 July.
However, Lawyer New Sin Yew confirmed with the Malay Mail that he had filed an application for an urgent hearing date on behalf of the family on 15 July. This is concerning the stay application and habeas corpus application. The hearing will be held on 21 July.
New also puts pressure on the court to hear the habeas corpus application as soon as possible to ensure the children can be released from detention as soon as possible.
