KUALA LUMPUR: Seven siblings from Kampung Tanjung Sungai Choh are finally able to live normal lives after they received their identification cards on Friday, which they personally received from National Registration director-general Datuk Badrul Hisham Alias.
Ahmad Shahmil Ismail, 30; Muhammad Fazril Ismail, 29; Nur Hakimah Ismail, 26; Nur Hakikah Ismail, 24; Nur Laila Ismail, 22; Nur Shakila Ismail, 19; and Zakaria Ismail, 17, have been without any official birth certificates and identification cards as their parents failed to register their wedding and their children’s births officially.
The lack of documentation led to all seven siblings growing up without any formal education, proper jobs and the basic freedoms enjoyed by their fellow Malaysians, the fourth sibling Nur Hakikah said.
She said they made do by learning informally on their own, by watching television and listening to people’s conversations as well as learning the alphabet and how to write in stages.
“We had no schooling. We learned bit by bit. We promised ourselves, we would keep learning even if we couldn’t go to school.
“Life certainly wasn’t normal. We felt restricted going anywhere as we didn’t have any identification cards,” she said after receiving her identification card in Bandar Sungai Buaya, Rawang on Friday.
Their problems did not end with a lack of formal education, as not possessing identification documents means they had limited job opportunities as most employers refused to hire them, causing them to rely solely on part-time jobs without any social security protection as they were unable to contribute to any official schemes.
“People would say, whose children are these, why aren’t they in school but we slowly managed to get used to the teasing and humiliation that became part of our lives,” she said as she recalled the anxiety they suffered and the stigma they faced. – BERNAMA
