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Ridzawati teaching her children as they are eager to learn. |
SUNGAI BULOH: A problem in registering their marriage 15 years ago has resulted in children of a Malaysian couple unable to attend school.
Their 14-year-old son now works at a workshop, while their nine-year-old daughter stays home to help take care of her sick father, Muhamad Isnin.
Both could not attend school as the couple did not have a marriage certificate, a requirement for parents when they register their children for school.
Due to the absence of the marriage certificate, their children also could not be issued a birth certificate or MyKid.
It all began in 2003, when Isnin and Ridzawati Jamaludin tied the knot using the services of a kadhi in Kedah.
It was only much later that they found that their marriage was illegal and they were victims of a marriage syndicate.
They discovered the bitter truth when they approached the Kedah Islamic Religious Department (MAIK) to get a replacement copy of their marriage certificate.
They were shocked when told their marriage had not been registered.
“We suspect we were victims of a scam. As a result, our union was not recognised by the law” Ridzawati, 38, said when met at the family’s home here.
“We couldn’t trace those who got us married to get a new certificate to replace the missing one.”
Ridzawati’s two younger children, aged five and two, are not of schooling age. But she knows that they too will not be able to attend school like their older siblings.
“They always ask me when they can go to school,” she said. “I have no more excuses to give them.”
Their 14-year-old son now works at a workshop, while their nine-year-old daughter stays home to help take care of her sick father, Muhamad Isnin.
Both could not attend school as the couple did not have a marriage certificate, a requirement for parents when they register their children for school.
Due to the absence of the marriage certificate, their children also could not be issued a birth certificate or MyKid.
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Ridzawati Jamaludin, 38, is in charge now of the family after her husband fell sick |
It all began in 2003, when Isnin and Ridzawati Jamaludin tied the knot using the services of a kadhi in Kedah.
It was only much later that they found that their marriage was illegal and they were victims of a marriage syndicate.
They discovered the bitter truth when they approached the Kedah Islamic Religious Department (MAIK) to get a replacement copy of their marriage certificate.
They were shocked when told their marriage had not been registered.
“We suspect we were victims of a scam. As a result, our union was not recognised by the law” Ridzawati, 38, said when met at the family’s home here.
“We couldn’t trace those who got us married to get a new certificate to replace the missing one.”
Ridzawati’s two younger children, aged five and two, are not of schooling age. But she knows that they too will not be able to attend school like their older siblings.
“They always ask me when they can go to school,” she said. “I have no more excuses to give them.”
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Rohingya refugee pupils at the Al-Akhlas school in Selayang. |
Yet Rohingya children can study in 'alternative' schools in Malaysia which are run by UN agencies. What f**king gives?
The United Nations Convention on the the Rights of the Child requires all children to be given access to basic education, regardless of their citizenship status. This would include any doubts about their parents marital status.
ReplyDeleteIt us inhumane to deny schooling to this child.
Ktemoc, who claims to stand up for decent human values...I can't hear you...