KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Pahang-born Azimah Hamzah can now finally call herself a citizen of Malaysia at the age of 38, just like the rest of her family.

Her parents who were Muslim refugees from Cambodia and all her five siblings had been granted Malaysian citizenship years earlier.

Due to turn 39 in five more months, Azimah was granted a Malaysian identity card after her application for naturalised citizenship to the National Registration Department (NRD) succeeded.

She wanted this document since age 12.

Azimah spent the past five years in courts to be recognised as a stateless person born here who is entitled to Malaysian citizenship automatically, but will now no longer have to continue her legal struggles in court.

When contacted by Malay Mail, Azimah’s lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin said his client had on December 5, 2024 made her latest citizenship application under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, which is for those seeking to be naturalised citizens.

Under Article 19, it is up to the Malaysian government to decide whether a person can become a naturalised Malaysian citizen, and this requires the applicant to meet several conditions, including having good character and adequate knowledge of the Malay language.

Shahid Adli said Azimah received the Malaysian government’s decision on her successful citizenship application last December 20, and the MyKad on January 20.

“As the matter has been settled in Azimah’s favour, we have withdrawn the appeal,” Shahid Adli told Malay Mail recently, adding that the date of the withdrawal of Azimah’s appeal at the Federal Court was January 20.

Azimah’s case was among several citizenship cases that was scheduled to be heard by the Federal Court on December 10, 2024, that was later rescheduled to January 27 to wait for the Home Ministry’s decision on her citizenship application.

But before her case went up to the Federal Court, she was granted her Malaysian citizenship and so her case was discontinued.

The other lawyers on Azimah’s legal team were Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar, Latheefa Koya, and Abraham Au.

Azimah’s story

Azimah was born in the Cherating refugee camp in Kuantan, Pahang in June 1986.

This is the same refugee camp where her parents and her elder sister had stayed upon their arrival as Muslim refugees from Cambodia in 1985 until 1987.

Azimah’s parents became permanent residents (PR) in November 1986 and became naturalised Malaysians in November 2008; her elder sister was also granted naturalised Malaysian status the same month.

Azimah’s four younger Malaysia-born siblings are automatically Malaysians as her parents were permanent residents when they were born.

But because her parents had not yet obtained PR when she was born, Azimah was deemed a non-citizen.

Azimah applied for a MyKad at the age of 12 in 1998, but the NRD in November 1999 wrote a letter to say that she was not entitled to Malaysian citizenship.

The NRD later issued her a MyKAS or a green identity card — which recognises non-citizens with temporary resident status in Malaysia — and renewed it several times over the years.

In 2017, NRD rejected her MyKAS renewal application and directed her to the Cambodian embassy or Immigration Department to check her qualification for a passport and other documents.

After checking with the Cambodian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Azimah received the embassy’s September 18, 2018 certified letter which confirmed she had never held a Cambodian passport or Cambodian identity documents.

Her lawyers previously said Azimah had spent her whole life in Malaysia since birth, and that she had never been to Cambodia and does not know that country.

Azimah then applied to the NRD for Malaysian citizenship in October 2018 under Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution; this was rejected in March 2019.

In June 2019, Azimah filed her court challenge against the Malaysian government and government officials to seek to be recognised as a Malaysian and to be issued a MyKad.

The High Court on March 11, 2020 dismissed Azimah’s lawsuit as it said she had failed to prove she is stateless, while the Court of Appeal on February 15, 2022 made similar findings in dismissing her appeal and noted she still has the option to apply to be a naturalised Malaysian citizen.

Azimah had appealed to the Federal Court, and this appeal is the one that has been withdrawn since she is now a Malaysian.