72-year-old Malaysian in Sri Lanka may get to return home

After being stateless in Sri Lanka for 60 years, Siti Fatimah Akbar finally sees a glimmer of hope in returning to her country of birth with assistance from the Malaysian government.

The 72-year-old woman is joyous at the prospect of returning to Malaysia, her beloved country that she left when she was 12.

“I have been a stateless person over the past 60 years and my longing for Malaysia is just unbearable,” she told Bernama when met at the official residence of the Malaysian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah, in Colombo recently.

Siti Fatimah was among a handful of Malaysians who attended a dinner in conjunction with the visit of the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail with a delegation from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) for the ‘Jelajah Ilmu’ programme to Sri Lanka.

The Penang-born septuagenarian, who has been living in the Sri Lankan capital for almost her entire life, may be getting on in age but her eyes were glowing with excitement when told about life back in Malaysia.

“I only lived in Malaysia for 12 years after my (late) father took me to reside here.

“We left after my father finished his stint as a teacher and principal of a private school in Kuala Lumpur when the country had yet to gain independence,” said Siti Fatimah, who can still converse in Bahasa Malaysia but found it more comfortable to speak in English.

She said as an adult, she often thought of returning to Malaysia but did not have the relevant documents to proof her citizenship.

“I’m grateful as the Malaysian High Commission  here is very concerned over my plight and put so much effort to find evidence suggesting that I’m actually a Malaysian.

Meanwhile, Wan Zaidi said the woman’s chances of returning to Malaysia looked promising as all the relevant documents were now being prepared.

According to him, the woman could come back to Malaysia as a citizen once the documentation process was over.

Source: Bernama

-Agencies