German-born cyclist pedals into Malaysian citizenship

After eight long years, German-born Mohd Justin Felix Nagel has finally managed to pedal into Malaysian citizenship.

The 15-year-old cyclist's dream of becoming a Malaysian citizen finally rang true when he received his temporary MyKad from the National Registration Department (NRD) here today.

Mohd Justin Felix, who was once stateless , was accompanied by mother, Hasni Samsudin, 35, and step-father Azin Iskandar, 33, along with the teenager's three siblings, aged between two and seven.

Tomorrow morning, he will collect his permanent Malaysian identity card.

Speaking to reporters later, an overwhelmed Mohd Justin Felix could not contain his happiness at finally receiving his MyKad, for which he had waited since 2009.

"I am glad the (long) wait is over. I can now concentrate on my studies and training without having to worry about my citizenship status.

"I can continue to pursue my dream of representing Malaysia in local and international cycling competitions," he said.

He thanked his parents, coaches, the youth and sports ministry, Johor Sports Council and those who had supported and helped him throughout the process (of helping to obtain the MyKad).

Meanwhile, an overjoyed Hasni said her son could now enjoy the privileges which came with being a Malaysian.

"Being a non-citizen, my boy faced many problems such as trouble in enrolling at school after studying for almost two years...he was almost kicked out of school," she added.

She said her son could take part in cycling competitions and enjoy the benefits which cyclists were entitled to.

Mohd Justin Felix's plight was highlighted by the media last year when Hasni recounted a myriad of problems she faced in trying to obtain citizenship for her son since 2009.

The cyclist was born in Itzehoe, Germany, to German father, Kai Nagel and Hasni, a Malaysian. They were divorced in 2006.

Mohd Justin Felix has a younger brother, Joshua Adam, 11, who was born in Kuala Lumpur, and has no citizenship issues.

Complications arose from the family's first attempt to gain his citizenship in 2009, which hit a stumbling block when Kai had initially declined to travel to Malaysia to sort out the cessation of Mohd Justin Felix's German citizenship.

Kai, however, did come to Malaysia last August, following which Hasni said he agreed to Mohd Justin Felix becoming a Malaysian citizen.

While his application for citizenship since 2009 hung in the balance, Mohd Justin Felix's German passport expired in 2013.

He refused to renew the document to push through with his application for Malaysian citizenship.

Following an application supported by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and the Home Minister's Office, Hasni and Mohd Justin Felix were called for an interview with NRD in September last year, following which they were told the cyclist's application was being processed. -- Bernama