GEORGE TOWN: An 83-year-old man expressed overwhelming joy after finally receiving his Malaysian identity card following nearly seven decades of living in the country.
Chan Weng Poh arrived in Penang from China at age 15 in 1957, just before Malaysia achieved independence, and built his life here without formal citizenship until now.
He described this year’s National Day celebration as particularly meaningful after obtaining his blue identity card following 69 years of residence.
Chan stated, “Today, I am grateful to have finally become a Malaysian citizen. I moved here because life was very difficult in China at that time. Once I arrived, I learned about the culture, food, and Malay language, which enabled me to interact with the people easily.”
He added, “If you ask me which country I love more, China or Malaysia, I would undoubtedly choose Malaysia. Initially, I held various jobs before becoming a cloth seller, but I have not been trading for the past 20 years.”
Chan expressed gratitude to all parties, particularly the state government, for assisting him in obtaining citizenship after a 20-year effort.
His wife Ooi Lay Yong, 64, shared that Chan woke up early due to excitement about finally receiving the identity card he had awaited for decades.
She noted, “Uncle truly loves Malaysia. His heart belongs to Malaysia, and every year he joyously celebrates the National Day with the people.”
Another recipient was 13-year-old Teoh Zheng Yang, who has Down syndrome and received his identity card alongside 13 others at the Penang Citizenship Programme event.
Teoh’s father Kwat Ching explained his son never had identification documents because his marriage to an Indonesian woman wasn’t officially registered and she returned home after giving birth.
He stated, “I began applying for a birth certificate and identity card for him when he was six years old, after he was unable to enroll in school.”
State Committee Chairman for Social Development, Welfare, and Non-Islamic Affairs Lim Siew Khim revealed the programme has processed 5,595 cases since 2013, including 3,504 citizenship applications with 579 successful outcomes.
Lim explained that individuals born in Malaysia sometimes fail to receive citizenship due to factors like missing birth certificates, complicated parental status, or unregistered marriages.
He added, “Successful cases included applications under Article 14, such as the registration of births abroad after more than a year, late registration of birth certificates, late registration of identity cards, entry permits, adoption of non-citizen children, verification of citizenship status, new naturalisation applications, corrections or amendments to birth certificate information, as well as Article 13 (illegitimate children).”
The Penang Citizenship Programme remains free of charge, with officers assisting in document preparation, consultation, and coordination with relevant departments. – Bernama