IT was a teary affair for contractor Mohd Faizal Suresh, who tried his best to obtain a birth certificate for his mother R. Alliama, 65.
Mohd Faizal, 46, claimed that his mother was born in Butterworth in 1956.
“I have been trying to help my mother to get her birth certificate, but I have failed miserably so far. It was due to the strict policies imposed by the National Registration Department (JPN) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“I have tried four times to apply for her birth certificate, but all got rejected.
“Her application falls under the ‘Late Registration of Birth’ category.
“Since my mother has no proper documents to confirm her birthplace, we must fulfil a requirement which is to identify and produce ‘three witnesses who are 10 years older than the applicant’.
“The witnesses must either be siblings, neighbours, friends or relatives,” said the emotional Mohd Faizal in a press conference in Komtar today.
Mohd Faizal, who sat next to his mother, broke down in tears while explaining the challenges the family had faced.
“Without a birth certificate, it means that my mother is stateless in Malaysia. Her medical expenses would have to be borne by the family members, even in Government hospitals.
“She had to undergo a medical procedure several years ago to implant a pacemaker in her chest and the cost was over RM70,000.
“I sought help from Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy. We are very thankful to the state government for extending the much-needed monetary assistance.
“Thanks to the state, my mother is healthy again,” he said.
Mohd Faizal said now, he only hoped to obtain a birth certificate for his mother.
Another individual Goh Poh Kee, 70, was facing a similar problem.
Goh also did not have proper documents to confirm her birthplace, hence, the difficulty of obtaining a birth certificate.
Dr Ramasamy urged the Ministry of Home Affairs and JPN to find a solution and address the issue promptly.
“Some senior citizens may not have the means to be born in a hospital (or other relevant premises) in the past. And the requirement to identify and produce ‘three witnesses who are 10 years older than the applicant’ is ridiculous.
“They could be dead by now, which gives these applicants no chance to get their birth certificates,” he added.
Separately, Dr Ramasamy said the Penang Special Citizenship Assistance Committee, comprising five special officers, had been doing a good job in coordinating citizenship applications in all five districts in the state.
Since its establishment in 2013, the committee had already assisted 2,716 individuals.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi