Dropouts due to lack of personal documents a concern, says minister

KUCHING: The number of children dropping out of school in the state because they do not have personal documents such as birth certificates is a concern, says Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

She said the situation would be worse if the children’s citizenship status is unknown, such as with cases of a child with a Malaysian father and non- Malaysian mother.

“When the child is born out of wedlock, the child will assume the citizenship of the mother. If the mother is a foreigner, the child will assume a non- citizen status,” Fatimah said when contacted in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Often, the cause of a child dropping out from school is because parents cannot afford to pay foreigners’ school fees. This causes the child’s self-esteem, wellbeing and future to be adversely affected.”

She said children without personal documents are those who are born out of wedlock and/or have a non-Malaysian father and Malaysian mother, or vice versa.

“Continuous awareness is needed irrespective of circumstances, married or not, resulting in the birth of the child, registration of the birth of a child is mandatory. Otherwise the child will bear the misfortune of not having a birth certificate and citizenship.

“When these parents finally apply for birth certificate and citizenship, they may find that the process of approval for birth certificate application would be very fast as this comes under the state’s National Registration Department but the approval for citizenship application can take a while as it lies with the Home Ministry,” she said.

On the trade mission in Bangkok, Fatimah said she is with members of Dewanita – the Sarawak Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Chamber of Commerce women’s wing.

Upon their arrival, the delegates were received by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation ( Matrade) Bangkok trade counsellor Norman Dzulkarnain Mohd Nasri and several representatives from the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok.

The delegates visited the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and Matrade Head Office in Bangkok.

Dewanita members also connected with the Business Professional Women ( BPW) Association of Thailand and held a talk with members of the Textile and Garment Manufacturers Association of Thailand.