MIRI, Dec 25 — After years of struggle with identity and legal status, several ‘stateless’ Orang Ulu in Miri Division have found hope as the government finally returns their seized MyKads.

On Oct 10 this year, 80-year-old Anderias Sia and his wife Ribka Palung from Lawas received their identity cards, which were confiscated in 2022.

This development brought hope for their four children, who have remained stateless their entire lives despite being born and raised in Malaysia.

One of their children, Dickson Anderias, said that he and his siblings went to the National Registration Department (NRD) office after their parents had gotten back their MyKads.

"We went to the NRD and submitted our application for changes in some of the information in our birth certificates.

"The officers said that this process would take about three months.

"We are looking forward to seeing the changes on our birth certificates after that,” he said in an interview recently.

Dickson added that once the information in their birth certificates had been updated, he and his siblings would be able to submit formal applications for Malaysian citizenship.

The family’s struggles were featured in a special report by The Borneo Post in August, highlighting the severe effects of statelessness, including difficulties in accessing essential services such as healthcare.

In addition to this case, other individuals who had their Mykads returned by the NRD on Oct 10-11 included Sarlin Rining, the wife of former Border Scout member Basar Arun, and Yohana Sinau.

Both are in their late 70s.

While these families and individuals have found their happy endings, the issue of statelessness remains a persistent challenge for hundreds, if not thousands, of others still seeking citizenship in the country. — The Borneo Post