COMMENT | Recently, I came across a heartfelt comment piece in Free Malaysia Today, written by Cikgu Rukku on statelessness in Malaysia.

She shared her personal experience of her late sister who had been a permanent resident of this country for 60 years without being conferred citizenship till her passing despite her applying from the age of 12 in 1960.

Cikgu Rukku listed each criterion that her sister had fulfilled, including being the daughter of a man who served proudly for Kereta Api Tanah Melayu for more than 30 years, being the daughter of a woman who gave away her Singaporean Citizenship for Malaysian Citizenship in 1975 and most importantly, having a birth certificate registered at the Sungai Besi police station.

Despite all these, she was only conferred Permanent Residence and sadly passed away, being categorised as a foreigner under the Covid-19 death numbers on Tuesday, June 15...