The Real ‘Abang Adiks’

Realistic story: ‘Abang Adik’ tells the story of two undocumented brothers whose quest to obtain citizenship in Malaysia is fraught with challenges. — Handout

WHEN Abang Adik, a movie portraying the lives of two stateless brothers in Pudu was screened, it sparked conversations on statelessness that I could have never expected. However, the real “abang adiks” may be closer than we think.

As reported in a local daily recently, around 16,000 stateless people were identified in Peninsular Malaysia from 2016 to June 2023 according to the Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA). Out of 16,392 verified stateless cases registered with DHRRA, an estimated 7,000 have been recognised as Malaysians. The biggest proportion of the remainder is classified as childhood statelessness.