Yee Tsai Yiew
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Api-Api Division Information Chief Yee Tsai Yiew gives thumbs up to the Education Ministry’s (MoE) plan to expand its ‘Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih’ (SBJK) to Sabah next month.
She said the move will not only ensure the education of marginalised children but is also timely as the right to education is a fundamental human right that has been universally recognised since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
“The move shows the Government’s commitment to ensuring that children who are residing in Malaysia have an irrevocable and guaranteed right to acquire without obstacles, fair access to formal education, and as such is positive recognition of the right to education as a fundamental right,” she said in a statement today.
Regrettably, Yiew said this is not the case when it comes to the issue of education of children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers.
She urged the MoE to address this pressing issue and pointed out that due to their foreign-born status, these children often face a complex visa application process, which leads to numerous difficulties when attempting to register them at local schools.
“At present, visa application processing times generally extend to almost six months, causing unnecessary hardship and educational barriers to these affected children,” she said.
She added the Government bureaucracy and numerous red tape have often led to the delay in the enrolment of these children in schools, which is a fundamental breach of their rights to education.
She believes that expediting the visa process will help ensure that these children can enter schools and receive education as soon as possible, giving them the opportunity to access an equal learning environment and develop their potential.
The Federal Government has previously stated that it intends to propose amendments to the Federal Constitution regarding citizenship rights at the next parliamentary session, allowing children born to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers to automatically become Malaysian citizens should they elect to do so.
Therefore, Yiew urges the Federal Government to prioritise this matter and not delay it, as it concerns the education rights of the children.
“However, as the matter is yet to be passed, I urge the Government to develop an inclusive educational policy to ensure that these children born overseas can receive education within the legal framework so that they can equally enjoy the right to education as other Malaysian children have,” she stressed.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek recently announced that SBJK will be expanded to the State Capital next month to assist street children and undocumented children in obtaining formal education.
Fadhlina stated that the establishment of these schools is part of the MoE’s commitment to improving educational opportunities for children from various backgrounds.
