I wrote to my MP
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an email to my MP, Lim Lip Eng.
What led me to this action was an article by John Lee entitled: Sold Out at the Altar of Malay Unity. In that article, John recounted how his mother, a Philippines national, has yet to be accepted as a permanent resident of Malaysia despite being wife to a Malaysian and mother to 4 Malaysians and resident for 12 years.
My mother is not a Malaysian. She is a Filipino, although with a partial Chinese heritage. My parents met while they were pursuing their post-graduate studies in Thailand. They tied the knot two decades ago; they have brought into the world and raised four children, all of them Malaysian citizens. Over a decade ago, my parents made the conscious decision to bring their three children back to Malaysia, and have their fourth born there, because they wanted us to know our roots. My mother has lived in this country for 12 years, and spent close to 19 years of her life raising Malaysian citizens; she has learnt the national language, made Malaysian friends, and settled herself here. If this is not the loyalty asked of Malaysian citizens, I don’t know what loyalty you expect from us.
For the past 12 years, my family has made an annual pilgrimage to the Immigration Department, because my mother is not entitled to reside in Malaysia. Every year, my parents swear before a Commissioner of Oaths that they are still legally married, and on this basis, they renew my mother’s “social visit pass” at the Immigration Department. A social visit pass, for the mother of four Malaysian citizens, the daughter-in-law of another two Malaysians, the wife of yet another Malaysian, and friend of many more!
A long, long time ago — so long I cannot remember, but about a decade or so — my mother applied to the Immigration Department for a permanent resident visa. My parents personally put all the necessary paperwork together, and my mother invested a lot of her time — time which could have been spent looking after her four young Malaysian children, or contributing to the Malaysian economy — in learning the Malay language. To this date, the Immigration Department has never even acknowledged receipt of her application.
I was outraged that such a situation can be allowed to happen and determined to write a comment on the article. However, after some thought, I realized that I really know very little facts beyond what may be an isolated situation. Surfing the net, I hear other similar stories and I felt that the issue ought to be raised in Parliament. So the article I set out to write on “unity” turned out very differently. And in this particular matter I felt that I should ask my “representative” to seek more information. Getting his email address entailed a simple google search. I then wrote the following email:
To my MP: Lim Lip Eng
Dear sir,
After reading John Lee’s account of the woes his mother has undergone in trying to get permanent residence status despite being married to a Malaysian, a mother of 4 Malaysians and a resident for 12 years, (http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/headlines/42-lead-stories/2180-sold-out-at-the-altar-of-malay-unity) I am moved to write to you to find out in Parliament the following:
How many non-Malay families are in this situation? For how long?
How many Malay families are in this situation (those who married foreigners)?
For how long?
How many non-Malay families have had their applications approved?
How many Malay families have had their applications approved?
Why does such a case like John Lee’s mother exist?
I just want to know the facts. If you cannot ask during this parliament session, please do so at the next.
Thank you.
The reply came a few days later in a short, terse message:
Thanks for the info.
I will do just that.
And in this simple way, I participated in the political process.
For those who have done much more, this is of course kacang putih. What will this achieve? We need to protest with loud voices. We need to show strength. We need to challenge the powers-that-be. Perhaps so. As one who has not gone into the streets to make my voice heard, I am in no position to respond. I do believe that we should exploit the avenues available to us and letting our representatives have the benefit of our voice is one such avenue. (But please don’t ask your MP to deal with clogged drains and indiscriminate parking lah)
I have no clue where this would lead. Whether the questions will be asked in Parliament. Whether the answers will be forthcoming. But that, for now, is up to my representative.
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