Woman abandoned by Indonesian mother receives Malaysian citizenship

PUTRAJAYA: Rohana Abdullah, the 22-year-old woman who was left by her Indonesian birth mother to be cared for by a Malaysian Chinese woman, shed tears of joy while accepting the letter granting her the Malaysian citizenship status from the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin today.

After receiving the letter, she returned to her seat and gave her adoptive mother Chee Hoi Lan, 83, a tight embrace before both mother and daughter left the ceremony.

According to Hamzah, while on stage to receive the letter, Rohana said she was touched by the gesture.

"On stage, she (Rohana) cried as she said she had been waiting for a long time on the decision regarding her citizenship application.

"She expressed her thanks to the government and I informed her that we grant citizenship to eligible individuals," Hamzah said about Rohana's reaction after receiving the letter.

Rohana was one of 34 recipients aged between five and 24 who received Malaysian citizenship at the ceremony held at the Home Ministry.

Article 15A of the Federal Constitution provides a special power for the federal government to register a person under the age of 21 as a citizen.

Rohana's citizenship issue attracted the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who had contacted her to assist with her documentation.

Rohana was reportedly abandoned when she was two-month-old by her biological mother, an Indonesian citizen, and was cared for by Chee, who was a teacher at a kindergarten where she worked as a cleaner.

-- BERNAMA