S’wak activist: Why stateless kids need to have Indonesian passport to attend school?

Agnes Padan

MIRI (Feb 25): Social activist Agnes Padan is calling on the Sarawak government and state Education Department to provide the rationale behind the need for stateless children in Sarawak to apply for an Indonesian passport in order for them to attend school.

Agnes, when contacted today, said she wanted to know from Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah and the state education department why stateless children born in Lawas whose father is Malaysian need to apply for a student pass, which is also an Indonesian passport, that cost at least RM500 per child, not mentioning transportation cost to the Indonesian Embassy in Kota Kinabalu to apply for the pass.

“I would like to raise some questions in reference to Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah’s statement in the news published on Thursday regarding the issue of citizenship, whereby stateless kids who have applied for citizenship under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution can attend school from next month.

“Do these stateless children, whose father is Malaysian, still need to also apply for the student pass, undergo medical check-up that costs at least RM300 per child and pay school fees amounting to RM120 per child (for primary school) and RM240 per child (for secondary school)?” she asked.

Agnes also questioned Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution on the rationale for children born in Sarawak (in Lawas) and fathered by a Malaysian and had applied for citizenship under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution still asked to apply for an Indonesian passport in order to attend school.

To a question, Agnes said according to her record there are more than 40 stateless children in Lawas, with many of them still unable to attend school.

Some of them, she added, had passed the age of 17 which makes it no longer possible for them to return to school despite the move by the state government to allow stateless children to go back to school provided that they have applied for Malaysian citizenship under Article 15A.

On Thursday, Fatimah said stateless children will no longer be denied access to education and health services at government clinics provided that they have proof of citizenship application from the National Registration Department (NRD).

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