Stateless children in Kedah aged seven and above can enroll in public schools, said Kedah Menteri Besar Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah.

This was after Tan Yao Chun, seven, was not allowed to enroll in a school in Changlun because he did not have a birth certificate, despite being born to a Malaysian father.

“We were informed by (exco member in charge of education) Tajul (Urus Mat Zin) during the meeting that the Education Ministry has given its permission for stateless children to be accepted in all public schools, and that he will be calling all the district education departments to brief them on this matter soon,” Ahmad Bashah is quoted by The New Straits Times as saying.

However, he said, parents or legal guardians must secure documentation for the children from the National Registration Department so they can sit for national examinations.

According to Tan's grandmother, Rose Mary Chin, the boy was born in Thailand to a Malaysian father and Myanmarese mother, and his birth was not registered with the Malaysian consulate, the daily reported.

His mother handed Tan over to his paternal grandmother when the boy's father went missing, the daily reported.

Chin said she conducted a DNA test to prove the boy is her grandchild, but is still unable to obtain a birth certificate from the National Registration Department.

The boy had gone to SJK(C) Yit Min in Changlun in the hope of attending the first day of school yesterday but was turned away, the daily reported.

His grandmother, a retired nurse, hopes to legally adopt him so he can get a legal document and attend school.