PUTRAJAYA: A university student from Sabah made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Thursday, telling him her scholarship hopes may be crushed because her mother, who was born in the state, is not a permanent resident.
Speaking at the Putrajaya Festival of Ideas (Putrajaya FOI) organised by the higher education ministry Thursday, the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student shared her family’s struggles with Malaysia’s citizenship policies.
“Citizenship issues are common concerns in Sabah. For example, my mother was born and raised in Sabah, yet to this day, she has not been granted PR status,” she said.
“This worries me because a scholarship application requires both parents to be Malaysian citizens.”
The student said she had raised the issue with home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail but did not receive any response.
Anwar advised her to submit a formal letter with complete details to deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Zahid, who was also present, also encouraged the student to submit the letter to him.
“Send the letter to ‘uncle,’ and let ‘uncle’ handle it,” he said.
