Explain Why Deceased Kl Born Woman Denied Citizenship Family Tells Govt

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In a letter from the national registration department dated Dec 11, 2024, A Jaya Letchmi was informed that her application for citizenship was “unsuccessful”, without any reasons given. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: A family member of a now deceased Malayan-born woman wants the home ministry to explain an administrative delay on its part and the eventual rejection of her sister’s citizenship application.
A Rukkumani said the rejection of the application came four years after her sister, A Jaya Letchmi, passed away in 2021.
“We let go of the application when Jaya Letchmi passed away. But this February, we received a letter dated Dec 2024 rejecting the application.
“I want the government to explain why it was delayed for four years,” Rukkumani told FMT.

She said the delay raises questions about the ministry’s efficiency.
Rukkumani informed FMT that the application was submitted in 2020 and said the family’s last inquiry with the ministry was made later that year. However, she said no response or acknowledgement was received at the time.
According to a letter dated Dec 11, 2024 from the national registration department (JPN) sighted by FMT, Jaya Letchmi’s citizenship application was “unsuccessful”, with no reasons given.
A letter to FMT in Jun 2021 highlighted the plight of Jaya Letchmi, 72, who held a red identity card (IC) throughout her life before she died of Covid-19. A red IC is issued to permanent residents.
Rukkumani said her sister was born to a Malaysian father in Kuala Lumpur and lived her entire life here. Her birth was notified to the Sungai Besi police station on Dec 10, 1948.
Although the family applied for a blue IC in Kota Bharu, Kelantan when she turned 12, they did not pursue the matter due to the father’s itinerant lifestyle as a Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) worker.
“Back then, nobody really paid much attention to ICs and stuff like that, or so I was told,” said Rukkumani.
Their late mother, RP Saraswathy, experienced the same predicament, dying aged 85 without being granted citizenship. According to Rukkumani, Saraswathy was born in Negeri Sembilan in 1933 and spoke excellent Malay.
Rukkumani wants the home ministry to posthumously acknowledge that Jaya Letchmi and Sarawasthy were both citizens, as both lived and died in Malaysia throughout their lives without residing in other countries.
“I want an explanation to be given and (the government) to acknowledge them as rightful citizens of Malaysia.
“Is it fair to deny citizenship to people who lived their whole lives here? It’s not,” she said.
FMT has reached out to the home ministry for comments. - FMT

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