Children without citizenship eligible for school if one parent is Malaysian, says Sarawak minister

Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said this eligibility is governed by the Education Act 1996 (Act 550), the Education Regulations 1998 and MOE procedures currently in force. — Picture by FIrdaus Latif

First Published: Wednesday, 14 Oct 2026 2:06 PM MYT

KUCHING, Oct 14 — Children who do not yet hold Malaysian citizenship remain eligible for access to education at government or government-aided schools if they have at least one biological parent who is a Malaysian citizen, subject to the conditions and procedures of the Education Ministry (MOE).

Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said this eligibility is governed by the Education Act 1996 (Act 550), the Education Regulations 1998 and MOE procedures currently in force.

“For the purpose of school admission, information on the biological parent who is a Malaysian citizen must be stated in the child’s birth certificate.

“Citizenship status and access to education are two separate matters,” she said during the question-and-answer session at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.

She was responding to a question from Dr Johnichal Rayong Ngipa (GPS-Engkilili) on the status of children with a non-citizen parent but who were born and raised in Sarawak, as well as their eligibility to attend school.

Meanwhile, she said records from the National Registration Department (JPN) showed that 224 children born in Sarawak were registered as non-citizens between January and August this year.

“Among the main factors causing children to be registered as non-citizens or issued pink birth certificates are their parents’ marriages not registered or not recognised under Malaysian law.

“Other factors include mothers without valid identification documents, as well as cases of children who were found abandoned,” she said in reply to a supplementary question from Dr Rayong.

She said the state government is stepping up efforts to reduce the problem, including holding dialogues with communities and running awareness campaigns to encourage lawful marriage registration. 

In addition, assistance will be given to mothers born in Sarawak but lacking identification documents to obtain such documents through the channels and procedures set out under the Sarawak Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 10). — Bernama