DUE to unfortunate circumstances, Fitra Etika Shamsul Bahri, 30, is fighting an ongoing battle for citizenship because her parents failed to register their marriage in Malaysia.
She still frequents National Registration Department (JPN) to plead her case, but the advice from JPN Putrajaya is to seek permanent (MyPR) or temporary (MyKas) resident status instead.
“I’m at my wit’s end. I don’t know what else to do to get my IC (MyKad).
“I keep hitting a wall when I go to the enquiry counter.
“They tell me to refer the matter elsewhere like to the Indonesian embassy.
“It is frustrating, time consuming and has drained me financially,” she told Bernama from her in-laws’ home in Merbau Indah, Selangor.
The mother-of-two said the issue stemmed from her Malaysian father and Indonesian mother registering their marriage under her mother’s native country.
The situation was exacerbated when her father had an accident and suffered a serious head injury, leading to infirmity.
“My father managed to register my birth before his accident happened when I was two years old.
“My birth certificate has been my only form of identification ever since,” she said.
Fitra Etika said she was raised by her grandmother with help from her aunts.
“They were the ones who helped me with all the trips to the NRD.
“My mother left when I was around eight months old and her whereabouts are unknown.
“Some people suggest I fly to Indonesia to get my parents’ original marriage certificate and take my father with me, but he can barely move,” she said.
She hoped her marriage in 2020 would resolve matters, but it did not.
Although advised to seek legal help, she said the lawyer’s fees could be exorbitant and that there was not much to go on.
Due to her lack of citizenship, Fitra Etika depends entirely on her husband, in-laws and family for everything from essential needs to her children’s schooling and healthcare.
She said this had affected her confidence, making her feel like a burden.
“When my child is sick and my husband isn’t home, my parents-in-law have to take them to the clinic.
“Some days, I just sit and worry about my future,” she said.
Despite this, Fitra Etika is determined to be independent, and hopes to get an education and maybe even sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
“Growing up, I only attended religious classes and never went to primary or secondary school,” she said.
Her education comprised what she learned with help from an aunt, a tuition teacher and through books and newspapers.
She now helps her husband run a small business selling frozen pastries.
“If I had a MyKad, I’d love to run a proper business, maybe a stall.
“But most of all, I want to be able to open a bank account,” Fitra Etika said, adding that she would never give up her dream of citizenship.
