struggle to obtain birth registration for their children.53 The absence of birth certificates can limit these refugee children's opportunities for education and healthcare. It can prevent them from enrolling in schools, participating in formal education programs, and accessing essential healthcare services. This situation further exacerbates their vulnerability and restricts their ability to lead a normal life. ISSUE VI. Consequences of Statelessness in Malaysia 41. Statelessness and gender-discriminatory nationality laws have far-reaching and deeply detrimental consequences. Stateless and non-citizen children - with either parent Malaysian, such as children born overseas to Malaysian women - face challenges enrolling into the national school system, despite the establishment of the Zero Reject Policy in 2018. This policy still requires one parent to be a Malaysian citizen with an identification card, which excludes stateless children without a citizen parent or whose parents lack documentation.54 Those eligible are still faced with bureaucratic challenges including having to complete an arduous and lengthy enrolment registration process or being forced to join months after the start of the school year. In addition, these children are also excluded from essential services and resources available for children who are Malaysian citizens such as textbook loan schemes and dental checkups in school.55 Stateless persons also face difficulties in accessing tertiary education as not many universities accept to enrol them.56 Recently, the Education Minister announced that the Government is in the process of amending the legislation to enable children without documentation to study at public schools.57 42. Stateless children and non-citizen children with a Malaysian parent can access public health care but do not qualify for subsidised rates that are available to citizens. For instance, admission deposits for “foreigners” range from RM500 to RM1200 depending on the category of illness.58 This is also the case with basic immunisation; it is estimated that parents will have to pay a total of RM 1,000 in vaccinations alone for their children—each vaccine costing RM40—following the schedule set by the Ministry of Health for vaccinations.59 43. Stateless persons face difficulties in accessing formal employment leading to many resorting to working in the informal sector or dangerous jobs with a high risk of getting exploited; they 53 Ibid. Rostam NH and others, ‘A Legal Analysis of Stateless Children and Their Rights to Education in Malaysia: A Comparative Study with Thailand’ (2022) 11 International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development 55 Lim I, ‘Let Foreign-Born Kids of Malaysian Mums into Schools Pending Citizenship Reforms, Putrajaya Told’ MalayMail (15 March 2023) <https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/03/15/let-foreign-born-kids-of-malaysian-mums-intoschools-pending-citizenship-reforms-putrajaya-told/59499> accessed 10 July 2023 56 Ibid. 57 Yusof TA and others, ‘Govt to Amend Act to Allow Undocumented Kids Attend Public Schools, Says Fadhlina’ The Star (14 June 2023) <https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/06/14/govt-to-amend-act-to-allow-undocumented-kidsattend-public-schools-saysfadhlina#:~:text=Fadhlina%20said%20the%20amendment%20would,schools%20funded%20by%20the%20government> accessed 10 July 2023 58 Zainuddin A, ‘Amar: Drop High Health Care Fees For Marginalised Children’ CodeBlue (21 February 2022) <https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/02/21/amar-drop-high-health-care-fees-for-marginalised-children/> accessed 10 July 2023 59 There are a total of twenty-five vaccines required from birth to the age of 15. Ministry of Health Malaysia. “Vaccination for Children in Malaysia.” Ministry of Health. Website. <http://hsi.moh.gov.my/2019/04/17/vaccination-for-children-inmalaysia-2/> 54 11