KUCHING, March 17 — It has been a struggle for Henry Kung to secure his daughter’s admission to SJK Chung Hua No 2 here, with many bureaucratic issues hampering this effort.
The ordeal began when the 63-year-old sought citizenship approval for his daughter from the National Registration Department (NRD), a milestone achieved on May 10 last year.
He had made sure to comply with all the requirements, including paying RM100 for the citizenship certificate in June last year, but that crucial document, which was supposed to be out within six months, never appeared.
In this respect, Kung had maintained constant contacts with the department concerned, but nothing came out of it.
Kung then approached SJK Chung Hua No 2 for his daughter’s enrolment, only to be redirected to the Kuching District Education (PPD) office, where he was instructed to fill out the ‘Pink Form’ for ‘non-citizens’ applying for entry into government schools.
In September last year, Kung with the help from his lawyer friend Dominique Ng, completed and submitted the ‘Pink Form’ to the PPD, as per advised.
However, subsequent follow-ups revealed a puzzling disappearance of the submitted documents, including the ‘Pink Form’, of which the PPD claimed to have been then handed over to Sarawak Education Department.
“We faced a dead-end. Feeling frustrated, we revisited the Sarawak Education Department in January 2024, where we were issued a new set of ‘Pink Form’ and other documents for resubmission after an officer had actually acknowledged the administrative lapse,” Kung told The Borneo Post here.
Still, Kung said the process remained stagnant despite his persistent effort of following up with the JPNS.
This prompted him to head to the department on March 4 this year, hoping to engage directly with the Sarawak Education Department director himself.
This, too, did not go anywhere; instead, Kung was informed by a JPNS official that his daughter could only commence schooling beginning March 25, with the orientation excluded.
Adding to his frustration, Kung said a letter addressed to the JPNS director dated March 7, yielded no tangible outcome.
Schools already opened on March 11.
“In view of the importance for new students to familiarise themselves with the school system, we feel that it is crucial for our daughter to attend orientation.
“All this lack of communications and unresolved administrative delays have left us in limbo,” lamented Kung. — The Borneo Post
