KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — PKR lawyers representing 21-year-old stateless top student Roisah Abdullah claimed the Home Ministry has agreed to approve her application for citizenship today.
PKR’s Latheefa Koya and N. Surendran accompanied Roisah to a meeting with ministry officials in Putrajaya earlier this morning.
“We met with Puan Hashimah Nik Jaafar, the ministry’s deputy general secretary,” Latheefa told Malay Mail in a text response.
“They have asked us to submit a fresh application for citizenship at JPN (National Registration Department). They assured us that the application will be sent for the minister’s approval by today,” she added.
Also present was PKR’s Ampang MP, Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Latheefa said the delegation initially requested for a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the home minister.
However, Zahid was not present. Malay Mail understands the minister has prior appointments.
Roisah has since submitted a fresh application for citizenship at the NRD there, Latheefa said.
“We will then return with Roisah to Zahid’s office today to get confirmation whether her citizenship is approved,” the lawyer added.
Roisah needs the citizenship confirmation in order to apply to university immediately. In the recent STPM exam, the 21 year old was a top-scorer.
She was born in Klang and adopted by a Malaysian woman at birth. Her adoptive mother died in 2014.
Zahid, as the home minister, has the discretionary power to approve applications for citizenship on a case-by-case basis, a power vested in him under the Federal Constitution.
This morning, Malay Mail reported that the Ministry of Higher Education is keen on helping Roisah.
It is also understood that Zahid himself has taken a personal interest in her case.
Latheefa said she and her team will wait at Zahid’s office today until her application is approved.
