Jakarta, IO – Muhammad Yusri, 8, who has an Indonesian mother and Malaysian father, is living in limbo after his father died on April 12 and his mother died a year ago. His citizenship status is not clear because his birth was not been reported and his parents’ marriage was not registered, reported CNNIndonesia, Monday (24/4).
Haslinda, 48, the ex-wife of Yusri’s father is now taking care of the boy. She revealed that his parents delayed registering his birth due to poverty. “At the beginning of this year, Yusri’s father registered his birth but we weren’t sure what’s the progress so far,” said Haslinda.
Haslinda said citizenship registration in Malaysia is not an easy matter. Citizens must go through strict procedures set by the Malaysian National Registration Department (JPN). Foreign Ministry (Kemlu) has intervened to resolve Yusri’s citizenship status. Citizen Protection Director Judha Nugraha said the matter would be handled by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Read: The journey of Khong Guan, the rags-to-riches story of two ex-factory workers from China
Judha conveyed that citizenship status is basically regulated under Citizenship Law (Law 12/2006) of the Republic of Indonesia. He said that as long as the mother can be verified to be an Indonesian citizen and Yusri can be verified as her biological child, then he is entitled to an Indonesian citizenship.
Separately, Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail expressed his ministry’s commitment to provide assistance in the matter. (un)