PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STAR) – A stateless man, who says he was born to a Malaysian mother in an estate in Perak, is asking the government to grant him citizenship.
Velmurugan, 38, who goes by one name and hails from Felda Sungai Kiah in Sungkai, said that although his mother Balamah and grandmother were born in this country, they had the term “Not Decided” stamped in the citizenship section on their birth certificates.
(“Not Decided” is a term used by the National Registration Department (JPN) when the citizenship status is in the process of being verified).
However, his mother passed away days prior to receiving her citizenship, and her birth certificate was corrected last year.
Velmurugan, who said he was born in Ladang Escot Ulu Bernam, Tanjung Malim, stated all this in his affidavit referenced during the hearing of his case before Justice Amarjeet Singh at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Wednesday (March 19).
He named the JPN director-general, Home Ministry secretary-general and Malaysian government as the respondents in his case.
His lawyer Annou Xavier said Velmurugan, having never attended school and is illiterate, could only take on odd jobs due to his statelessness.
In his affidavit, Velmurugan also said his mother’s five siblings were all granted citizenship upon their registration with JPN, highlighting that they were all born in Malaya before independence.
“My mother Balamah was born on Dec 31, 1952, in Kuala Lumpur and had a birth certificate with the citizenship status of ‘Not Decided’. She died on Jan 27 last year and I believe she had the right to citizenship as she was born here before independence and had lived in this country her whole life and was not a citizen of any other country.”
Velmurugan mentioned that in a letter dated Jan 30, 2024, JPN had notified him that the application by his mother to insert the word “Citizen” under her citizenship status had been approved.
“However, my application to correct my citizenship status based on that was refused,” he said in his affidavit.
Velmurugan, who said he has been asking to be granted citizenship for seven years now, revealed that it has been challenging for him to secure a permanent job to support his Malaysian wife and their five Malaysian children.
“This has caused me much emotional stress and depression. I could not even register my marriage officially and could only marry through a Hindu ceremony. I cannot open any bank accounts and neither can I take a driving licence. I am now considered stateless although I have lived in this country all my life and have been loyal to my King and country. I have never committed any crimes and have always abided by the laws,” he said in his affidavit.
He said that by refusing his application to be granted citizenship under Article 14(1)(b) read together with the other section in the Second Schedule Part II, he has been denied his right to be a citizen of this nation.
Justice Amarjeet set May 19 for a decision on the case.
