Nine-year-old Jeanny Lianna Ating, who was previously stopped from going to school in Lawas because she was stateless, has been granted Malaysian citizenship.

After several attempts to change her status from non-citizen, Jeanny and her family received the good news on Wednesday (Aug 17).

Her mother Ruran Lukas confirmed the National Registration Department (JPN) has made the vital change in Jeanny’s new birth certificate.

“On Wednesday, JPN Lawas contacted my husband to collect the new birth certificate from their office. However, he only managed to collect it yesterday (Aug 18),” she told The Borneo Post.

Ruran revealed Jeanny and the rest of the family cried tears of joy when they saw the precious document declaring Jeanny a Malaysian citizen.

“We were actually in disbelief, more so because my husband had tried several times to change Jeanny’s citizenship on her birth certificate from non-citizen to citizen.

“We are forever grateful to all parties, especially the state government and JPN for allowing our application,” she said.

Ruran added that Jeanny is also set to be issued a MyKid — the identity card for children aged below 12 years — in October.

Jeanny made headlines in February when The Borneo Post reported she was barred from continuing her education at SK Long Sebangang last year due to her citizenship status.

Ruran, whose nationality is officially Indonesian despite being born and raised in Sarawak, and husband Ating Agong only registered their marriage in 2006.

As such, although Jeanny’s birth certificate clearly states Ating is her father, she was not granted Malaysian citizenship.

Her story prompted calls from various politicians and social activists for the state government to intervene and put an end to the long-standing issue which has denied stateless children their rights to education.

On April 9, Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah announced that the Premier of Sarawak’s office would issue temporary documentation to eligible stateless children applying for citizenship under Section 15A of the Federal Constitution to support them in having access to education and health facilities.

Following the state government’s intervention, Jeanny was finally allowed to return to school in May.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by JENIFER LAENG

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]