2019
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
6L
Lawyer who
works pro bono
with NGO on
stateless cases.
Heard someone talking
about statelessness on a
panel and approached
NGO to help. NGO
focuses on helping
those of Indian descent
obtain citizenship.
7L
Lawyer that
worked at firm
previously that
represented
stateless
persons.
Lawyer working
with NGO on
stateless issues.
Assisted senior
lawyers.
8L
Has given a lot of
summary advice to
stateless persons and
also represented some
through courts.
Advocating politically
for stateless persons
after learning from a
political party of
constituents asking for
help.
ACADEMICS AND RESEARCHERS
1A
Academic who
Touches upon
researches on
citizenship issues
international
tangentially.
law.
2A
Academic who
Need to transcribe.
works with
NGOs on
stateless issues.
1PHD
NGOS
1NGO
PhD student.
Dissertation on stateless
persons in Malaysia.
International
NGO.
Works predominantly
on refugee issues and
intersects with stateless
refugees.
132
1(1)
parents Chinese. Birth certificates
after adoption stated not citizens.
Judicially reviewed decision and
resolved.
Case 1: Father is Malaysian
(Indian descent) and married an
Indonesian woman. Mother left
after child was born. Father was
biological child but had no legal
rights. Lawyer tried to have
grandmother adopt child but court
denied because it would
effectively made father and
daughter siblings on paper.
Proceeded to have father adopt the
child even with DNA evidence
indicating biological link.
See 5L for cases
Case 1: adopted child whose
father is Malaysian (Chinese)
descent and Thai mother. Going
through courts now.
Citizenship is a politically
sensitive issue.
Case 1: Spoke with Ambassador
of the Philippines about a stateless
woman who was a waitress who
had no documents. She was born
in Malaysia and spoke no Tagalog.
Was able to assist her in getting
passport but issue with traveling
because confusion as to why she
did not have an entry stamp into
Malaysia.
Interviewed 100 stateless persons
mainly in Sabah. Confirmed many
cases arise out of persons not
registering births, marriages or
having appropriate documentation.
Case 1: Malaysian father and
Papua New Guinean mother – see
4L.
Engaged in mapping project of