KOTA KINABALU – Wong Kueng Hui, the 28-year-old who fought for 16 years to be recognised as a Malaysian citizen, finally picked up his MyKad in Putrajaya yesterday.
Wong, born in Keningau, Sabah, proudly shared a photo of himself holding his identity card on Facebook.
“After a long and challenging journey through legal complexities and bureaucracy, I am delighted to announce that I, Wong Kueng Hui, am now officially a citizen of Malaysia,” he said in a post.
“This identification card does not only represent my personal victory, but also stands as a symbol of hope for those who are still struggling for recognition and citizenship.”
Wong, who has never been allowed to sit for the SPM exam or to obtain a driving licence, also expressed his determination to use his rights as a Malaysian citizen to continue advocating for an end to statelessness in the country.
He expressed gratitude to his lawyer, Mohd Haijan Omar, and others who supported and assisted him throughout his citizenship journey.
The first few things he planned to do now that he has a MyKad are to open a bank account, Socso account and also an account with the Employees Provident Fund.
“After that, I’ll buy insurance and also get my driving license.
“Then my priority will be to continue my studies,” Wong told The Vibes.
He currently resides in Kuala Lumpur where he works in handling operations, warehousing and logistics for an excavator spare parts company.
On October 22 last year, the Federal Court rejected the Malaysian government’s attempt to prevent Wong from being recognised as a Malaysian citizen.
A three-member bench, led by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, dismissed the government’s leave application, stating that it did not meet the merits under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
Abang Iskandar added that even if leave had been granted, the appeal would have had little chance of success on merit.
Wong’s fight for citizenship began when he was 12. His Sarawakian father died when he was 10, while his mother, believed to be a foreigner, passed away when he was 17.
Wong had filed a judicial review lawsuit in June 2019 after receiving confirmation from the Indonesian embassy that they had no records of him or his mother.
He won his case in the high court in October 2019 and again in the Court of Appeal in January, with a 2-1 decision in his favour.
Despite these wins, it took longer for him to be officially recognised as a citizen due to the government’s appeal to the Federal Court.
During the legal process, Wong attempted to verify his mother’s nationality at the Indonesian and Philippines’ embassies but did not succeed.
He also did not receive any response to his citizenship applications when he was 12 or when he made another attempt in 2014. – The Vibes, July 13, 2023
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