Tuesday 30 September 2008

Who Is Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin?

While the titans of this beleaguered nation continue to battle it out for the top post of Prime Minister, the hapless citizens of this great and historic country must suffer for the ineptitudes of their fellow men. Such words may portend doom and gloom, unjustified -- yet, today's news has brought some sadness to my eyes.

Here is the story in short. A 78 year old Sino-Kadazan lady, by the name of Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin (for sake of convenience, she will be referred to as YLH@PL), lost her identification card on 12th February 2007. The series of events unfolded as follows:
  • 12-2-2007 : 78 year old Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin lost her wallet from her handbag.
  • 12-2-2007 : YLH@PL lodged a police report.
  • 26-2-2007 : YLH@PL applied for replacement identification card at Dogonggon.
  • Mid 2007 : YLH@PL collects I/C. Her children observe that it is red in colour (normally issued to Permanent Residents).
  • 2-7-2007 : YLH@PL files form for citizenship, on advice of NRD (JPN) officer that there may have been a mistake earlier.
  • Subsequently: Passport cannot be renews, past records "dissapear".
These incidents have riled up various BN component parties.

References:
  1. New Sabah Times, Sabahan Bumi Ends Up As A Permanent Resident!, 26-9-2008. (Found via UPKO website)
  2. The Star, Elderly Woman's Loss Of Citizenship Upsets Barisan Nasional Members in Sabah, 26-9-2008.

1 comment:

Shah Jehan said...

What to do. It seems the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN)does not keep proper records. In this circumstances, Madam Yong will need to reconvince JPN. And with the evidence clear before the eyes, I am sure her plight can be resolved. By evidence, I mean the various oral testimony by her children and family members. Reminds me of a Malaysian of Indian descent, Ragu, who had to go all the way to Ipoh to seek audience with the Sultan of Perak so that he could be given a MyKad. The Sultan was very helpful and now Ragu has a temporay identification card. Hopefully JPN can quickly establish his Malaysian-ness. The problem was also because Ragu's birth certificate was incomplete. This brings us to the issue of proper registration of birth. Since there are so many "stateless" Malaysians at the moment, the government should make it a point to devise measures so that such problem does not recur. One way is to educate and create awareness among the people of the importance of proper registration of babies. MyKad was introduced to combat forgery. In the same spirit, the system must also be improved in terms of registration. Not prosecution only.

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