By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 27: Rachel Sia, 25, has finally been granted Malaysian citizenship and received her MyKad, though it lacks the ‘K’ denotation that signifies Sarawakian status.
In congratulating Sia, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief Milton Foo explained that this means Sia, who received her MyKad in May this year, can only stay in Sarawak for three months at a time and must exit the State after each three-month period.
According to Foo, he has briefed Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also SUPP president, about Sia’s predicament, including the process of handling her citizenship application since 2021.
Foo noted that Dr Sim clarified that the Federal government does not have the power to issue a MyKad with Sarawakian identity without the Sarawak government’s consent, as Sarawak has immigration autonomy.
“This is the special power vested in the Sarawak government to protect the interests of Sarawakians,” Foo said in a press statement today.
He added that Dr Sim has promised to assist Sia in obtaining Sarawakian status.
On March 27, 2019, DayakDaily highlighted Sia’s predicament after her birth certificate was confiscated and canceled by the National Registration Department (NRD) when she was 12.
Her efforts to apply for citizenship had been futile until recently. — DayakDaily
