Her mother, Esther Teo, recalled a particularly painful moment during the Covid-19 lockdown when her daughter asked about her nationality for the very first time.
“She had online classes, and as it was August, the school had a Merdeka celebration where the children were waving the Malaysian flag and they had to sing Negaraku.
“Then she asked me: ‘Mummy, why am I not a Malaysian?’” Teo told FMT.
Teo said she was hit hard by her daughter’s question. She said she did not know how to explain to the then four-year-old girl that a child born overseas to a Malaysian mother does not automatically acquire citizenship under Malaysian law.
The Federal Constitution only grants automatic citizenship to children born to Malaysian fathers. Mothers, on the other hand, have no choice but to apply to the government for their children to be naturalised – a process that may take many years.
Things changed for Mia when she was finally granted citizenship this year.
“Now, when she hears people call her a foreigner, she comes to me and says: ‘Mummy, I’m now a Malaysian,’ and gives me the sweetest smile,” said Teo.
Another mother, Aniza Ismail, said her biggest fear was having her children deported upon expiry of their student visa after they turned 18.
Her elder two children, aged 21 and 18, were born in the US. Aniza could have remained there, but did not want to as her family and roots are in Malaysia.
“After a while, I figured the US was not where I was born. It is not where I’m supposed to be or belong. Where I belong is here, in Malaysia.
“That’s why I came back with the kids and fought hard to get their citizenship.
“They were raised here, and their sister is a Malaysian, and now they can be together without any separation,” she told FMT.
Aniza’s two US-born daughters were finally granted citizenship this year, after a 14-year wait.
Celebrating Merdeka as Malaysians
Teo has noticed a marked change in Mia as she celebrates Merdeka in school and with her sister.
“After she got her citizenship, my younger daughter started teasing her: ‘You have to sing the Saya Anak Malaysia now’. It was kind of sweet seeing both my Malaysian children singing that song,” Teo said.
To commemorate her daughter’s first Merdeka, Teo intends to have a family portrait taken with the Jalur Gemilang.
Aniza’s daughter, Atika Mawarni Suparjan, takes pleasure in simply being able to present her MyKad instead of her passport when she is asked to produce her identification documents.
Her message to those still waiting for citizenship is to not give up.
“I just want to tell them to not feel like an outcast if they still haven’t received their citizenship. Have good friends and be around people who treat you well,” said Aniza.
In March, the government tabled the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat. If passed, the law will grant citizenship to children if either one of their parents is Malaysian.
However, the law as drafted will not apply retrospectively. Family Frontiers, an NGO advocating equal citizenship rights, said this would mean a whole generation of children born before it comes into force will remain in limbo.