Every person defines luxury differently. For a 16-year-old in Klang, luxury means having obtained Malaysian citizenship.
Chen waited for nearly 2 decades to finally obtain a citizenship certificate, all thanks to his grandmother who has been “fighting” alongside him so that he can get what he deserves. To the pair, getting Malaysian citizenship right before the CNY is like “winning a lottery,”, and she called it the most touching CNY.
In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, the 76-year-old grandmother, Li Hua also mentioned Charles Santiago, the former MP of Klang who has helped the pair tremendously in obtaining the citizenship.
“At that time, I met Charles in his office where other people with similar experience were also there. We formed a committee to deal with citizenship matters.”
Li Hua also had something to say about her emotions when it came to the process of fighting the citizenship for her grandson.
“The government’s application system has harmed the rights of many innocent children.”
“It’s time for me to be out there, without any worries”
As for the teenager who has recently obtained his Malaysian citizenship, it means everything for him to finally be able to be out there without any worries. In the past, it felt like a major risk to even step outside of his house given the absence of a valid citizenship.
“I rarely went out in the past. It felt uneasy because I was afraid of being interrogated by the police. I had to ask permission before I went out,” Chen explained.
Chen was also grateful to have a bunch of understanding peers as he never has to worry about being abandoned due to his citizenship status.
For now, Chen is just relieved that he can be out there without feeling fearful.
“I feel more at ease. What I want to do most for now is to travel around with any worries.”
Li Hua added that her grandson’s application for citizenship has always been on the record, so the Ministry of Education allowed him to attend a government primary school. The only downside is that he was not eligible for the textbook loan.
Despite having valid citizenship, Li Hua said that officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs told her that her grandson still needs to fill out a form for “Orang Baru Tiba” (OBT) to apply for an identity card.
