MIRI, Aug 8 — Being stateless deprives individuals of basic human rights, with limited access to employment, education, healthcare and the ability to travel.
One of the primary effects of statelessness is the lack of access to employment opportunities. Without a legal status, stateless people often struggle to find a formal job that offers stability, and they are easily manipulated into doing work that is dangerous and underpaid.
In Malaysia, the government has introduced a new minimum wage of RM1,500 effective May 1, 2022, an increase from the previous RM1,200. However, some are still forced to accept much less than that and this is often because they have no choice.
Tutie Usun Bilong from Baram was happy when she found a job as a security guard for a school, but her happiness proved to be short-lived.
“I was working as a security guard at a primary school in Miri a few years ago, until the school found out that I did not possess any documents.
“I was asked to resign, and now I have just started working as a helper at a food stall, earning RM50 a day. Life is hard because I am also a single mother,” she said.
For Lis Deng, a Penan from Ba Magoh in Baram, he has given up looking for a formal job due to his statelessness.
“I can only do farming, helping relatives clear the land, plant paddy, and do harvesting works.
“No young men would want to do this work anymore, but I have no choice because this is the only work that does not require me to produce any personal documentation. Sometimes I wish I can work in town that pays more just like my peers, but I cannot.”
A cook in Lawas, who only wished to be identified as D, told The Borneo Post that he did not always receive the pay he was promised but he did not dare speak up.
“I was working as a cook at a restaurant earning RM700 per month. Sometimes, I receive only RM600 per month. I don’t have much choice, I cannot complain.”
Tutie Usun Bilong (third from left) with her siblings who are all stateless. — Borneo Post pic
Bureaucratic hurdle for education
Education is another major obstacle for stateless children and youth. In Malaysia, primary education is free and compulsory for children whose parents are citizens.
But for the stateless or undocumented children, access to education is limited.
In a Malaysian research article in 2022 titled ‘Undocumented: An examination of legal identity and education provision for children in Malaysia’, the authors stated that the Malaysian government imposes fees on non-citizen children and more stringent identity document requirements for school entry, following the changes in its education policy after 1990.
The changes in the policy had made it difficult for undocumented and non-citizen children to enter public schools.
In Parliament in March last year, Minister of Education Fadhlina Sidek said all stateless and undocumented children could attend any government or government-aided schools provided that one parent is a Malaysian and they have a letter that certifies that the child was born to a Malaysian parent.
She explained that the school fee imposed on stateless or undocumented children at government or government-aided schools is fixed at RM120 annually for primary school, and RM240 annually for secondary school.
This must be paid at the beginning of each school year before the child can be admitted.
At the same time, parents must resolve matters related to the children’s identification documents within two years after admission.
If this issue is not addressed within the two-year period, the parents or guardians need to submit a copy of the application status (for identification documents or citizenship) from the National Registration Department to the state Education Department or district education office.
This is to enable the children to continue their studies.
However, some parents are still unable to resolve the matter within the given timeframe, resulting in their children missing out on formative education.
The school fee imposed on stateless children is also seen as a burden to the family, especially when the majority of them come from poor background.
Sarawak moves ahead
Meanwhile, in Sarawak, the government has taken the initiative to allow stateless children in the state to enrol in public school and have access to healthcare, pending the outcome of their citizenship application.
On April 9, 2022, Sarawak’s Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah announced that the state government will issue temporary documentation to eligible stateless children applying for citizenship under Section 15A of the Federal Constitution.
She was quoted as saying that the state government was “very concerned that if a child is denied access to education due to his or her citizenship status, the vicious cycle of poverty will continue and the chances of the family to improve their socio-economic background is slim”.
To be eligible for the temporary document, three criteria that need to be met are having a birth certificate registered in Sarawak and has undetermined status on it, aged 21 and below, and has applied for citizenship under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution.
Even though this initiative is well-received by Sarawakians, activist Agnes Padan said there are some stateless children who are still unable to attend school because they could not meet the criteria.
Hence, she called for the Sarawak government to come up with other solutions to enable all stateless children to attend school, without placing additional barriers that prevent them from accessing the basic human rights.
‘You have no future’
Mary, 40, from Baram, said she was fortunate because in the early days, schools were more lenient with accepting a stateless person like her. However, she could not go far.
“After my secondary school, I was accepted into a public university but because of my status, I could not pursue my dream. I was devastated.”
B, 49, from Belaga, who finally became a Malaysian citizen about 20 years ago, recalled being left out and teased by his schoolmates when he entered school because of his statelessness.
He was also crushed when a teacher told him he had a bleak future because he had no personal documents.
“Growing up stateless left such a deep emotional impact and bitter memories in my life. Even my teacher said that I had no future in academics because I lacked documentation. I have felt terribly sad and stressed since I was a child.
“I could not represent my school in sports or academic activities. In my youth, parents in the village even prevented their daughters from being friends with me because they said I had no future.
“Their words were very hurtful and made me lose my confidence and enthusiasm for studies and life. Although I finally received my citizenship in the early 2000s, those memories will never go away.”
In the early 1990s, K, 49, was proud that his elder brother was offered a place to study aerospace at a public university in Johor, but the sad reality of the family’s statelessness soon came crashing down.
“He was over the moon because it had always been his dream to get into university. At the time, he applied using a copy of his MyKad receipt application and birth certificate. While he was studying there, he received a letter to collect his MyKad.
“When he came home to collect it in Sarawak, he found out that instead of being issued a MyKad, he was given a MyKas, which is a temporary resident card. He did not know the difference between the two until he was stopped by Immigration at the airport as he wanted to fly back to Johor to resume his studies.
“He was told that he could not travel outside of Sarawak with the MyKas document. He was devastated and, later on, suffered from depression.” — Borneo Post
*Jenifer Laeng is a recipient of the Khazanah-Wolfson Press Fellowship 2024 at University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.