Proof of the reforms is in the pie: many like Soliman can testify but prefer not to

 

After posting every article that carried coverage of the journey taken by Soliman Wan, who shared his story during our press conference yesterday, I received feedback from a good Malay friend of mine in Penang. At the very least, he was willing to acknowledge that the Madani government is seeking to rectify longstanding issues, including the plight of the stateless. 

Some sources put it that the number of known cases of stateless people have been reduced from a total of about 50,000, to around 4,000. Not many people are aware that citizenship matters require the consent of the Conference of Malay Rulers before the present government can act. We should therefore be grateful to the Conference of Rulers for granting Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a hearing, and I believe, the consent to pursue solutions for thousands of cases was subsequently given.

My comments, shared alongside the links to some of the articles and news clips, struck the right chord. If Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had not placed his signature on Soliman Wan’s case, it would never have happened. He would still remain stateless today. That is why I am glad Wan Soliman understood what it means to be grateful for the efforts Saifuddin undertook—efforts he was not obliged to make in the first place.

Statelessness in Malaysia has been a persistent issue affecting thousands of individuals, particularly children born in Malaysia who are denied citizenship due to complex legal and administrative barriers. Over the past decades, estimates suggest that tens of thousands of people in Malaysia remain stateless or at risk of statelessness. Soliman’s circumstances alone explains the need for recourse to address the issue of statelessness so that a new life born in Malaysia does not need to go through another long and winding journey. The press have been  very helpful to highlight his woes having to face with the reality of being a stateless person.

Key factors contributing to statelessness in Malaysia include:

• Children born to undocumented migrants or refugees who cannot obtain Malaysian citizenship.

• Foundlings and abandoned children whose parentage cannot be established.

• Legal and policy gaps that restrict citizenship transmission, especially for children born to Malaysian mothers and non-Malaysian fathers.

Recent reports by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and NGOs highlight ongoing challenges:

• Thousands of stateless children remain without birth certificates or identity documents. For someone like Soliman’s parents, they had to spend thousands of ringgit over the years transporting people ten years older than themselves and buying them appreciation gifts as part of the Sarawakian culture (his mother is now 72 and to look for the midwife who delivered her is nearly impossible). Because of that, Soliman’s three other siblings are still stateless unless the minister intervenes, but how many of our former ministers are as compassionate as Saifuddin? What Soliman’s wife said is very true: “We neeed to humanise our procedures and the mechanism or system for it to work.”

• Many stateless individuals face discrimination in access to education, healthcare, and employment. I just received a feedback ti inform me in Sabah, a stateless Youth was arrested by the police and placed behind bars as he did not have any document on him. We do not know if he has been released.

• Legal reforms have been proposed but progress is slow, and administrative hurdles persist. This explains the 33 years of Soliman’s journey. Not many people are as persistent as he is.

In summary, while Malaysia has recognised the problem of statelessness and taken some steps to address it, a significant number of cases remain unresolved, leaving many without nationality and vulnerable to social exclusion. In some cases, the children have been deprived of a scholarship because the parents themselves are stateless. It happened ro Soliman as the condition for the scholarship was only for citizens. 

We need to allow the government of the day to look at how to better improve the policy in order to solve the issue of statelessness once and for all. I concur with what my friend mentioned above. 

Here are the articles that you cacn read at random (some of you have also received this via WhatsApp):

1. Bernama: Our press conference today https://www.bernama.com/bm/am/news.php?id=2530206   

2. Because of the sincere efforts of one Minister, the Madani government’s reputation has received a positive boost: *Describing the approval as a miracle, Soliman expressed his appreciation to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for personally reviewing his application.*

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/03/1389840/i-can-finally-say-i-am-malaysian

Which home Minister has been as compassionate as Saif in solving the long standing statelessness?

To change the constitution that finally brought delight to stateless people, both the prime minister Anwar and the home minister Saifuddin Nasution had to brief the Conference of Malay rulers before they received the royak consent to proceed with this path. No former prime minister or minister of home affairs in the past ever cared for the stateless people, who can hardly even vote for Saifuddin or Anwar in the next general election because they are spread out all over the country. Yet this was one of the major isssues being resolved finally for the stateless people to end their woes in life. Malaysia Madani https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2026/03/1516824/lelaki-sarawak-terima-mykad-selepas-penantian-33-tahun

3. Dayak Daily: https://dayakdaily.com/kenyah-pastor-ends-33-year-ordeal-of-statelessness-receives-mykad-at-52/

4. Borneo Post: https://www.theborneopost.com/2026/03/04/33-year-wait-ends-as-sarawakian-finally-receives-mykad/

5. The Star TV:  https://www.thestartv.com/v/finally-a-malaysian-citizen-at-52

6. BernamaTV: https://youtu.be/lfDJPVZinbs

This us what I wrote the JPN director-general, 

Dalam kes Encik Soliman, ibunya masih belum mendapat sijil kelahiran walaupun sudah 72 tahun. Keturunan Encik Soliman yang dimasukkan oleh sistem JPN ialah keturunan Filipina, tetapi beliau tidak sekali pun mengisi borang permohonan dengan menyebut keturunan dari Filipina. (He was born into a the Kenyah tribe of Sarawak). Mungkin namanya Soliman ini satu kebiasaan nama yang digunakan di negara Filipiina, tetapi ini tidak bermaknya En Soliman Wan ini adalah anak Filiipino. Kerana nama beliau juga 'Wan' pada mulanya saya memanggil beliau Wan Soliman, tetapi sebenarnya Wan itu adalah nama mendiang ayah beliau, walaupun di semenanjung kita kerap menganggap Wan dan Tengku adalah dari kerabat diraja.

7. Sin Chew