PETALING JAYA: Social media users have welcomed the Home Minister’s instruction to look into the case of 22-year-old Rohana Abdullah, while also urging the ministry to probe similar cases that have gone unnoticed.

       In a Facebook post, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said that he was touched when he discovered the news about Rohana and has instructed his office to investigate the case.

       “I was touched when I was informed about this case last week,” he said yesterday on the story of how Rohana was raised by Chee Hoi Lan since she was a two-month-old baby, despite their religious and racial differences.

       Chee, 83, had been a kindergarten teacher where Rohana’s mother, an Indonesian citizen, worked as a cleaner.

       Rohana’s mother was married to a local man but he disappeared after Rohana was born.

       Their stories that made the rounds on social media have touched many hearts.

       Earlier, Chee had brought up the issue of Rohana not having citizenship with Batu Zone Residents’ Representative Council chairman, Gulam Muszaffar Ghulam Mustakim.

       Netizens flooded the comment section on Hamzah’s Facebook, saying that Rohana deserves to be a Malaysian citizen.

       “Thank you, Datuk Seri. I think cases such as these should be given top most priority and we hope this poor girl gets to see the light of the day very soon,” said a Facebook user.

       There were also comments saying that the minister should also probe similar cases, where children were barred from receiving formal education due to documentation issues.

       A user with the name Chu Mang, hoped that there will be a win-win solution for stateless children, and wished that there were more individuals and organisations highlighting such cases.

       “That’s great, Datuk Seri. There are also a number (of stateless children) that are facing the citizenship issue as Rohana.

       “But their stories were not heard on social media,” he said.

       Another user concurred, and urged the ministry to look into stateless children cases around the country.

       “I hope the government can speed up the process (of documentation) so children like this (stateless) can enjoy their basic rights such as education.

       “My adopted child is already four years old, and I have surveyed some schools but was turned down as the child does not have any legitimate nationality,” another user said.

       She also hoped that the ministry can further investigate similar cases that involve stateless adopted children as it would affect their future.

       Last November, the Federal Court granted Malaysian citizenship to a 17-year-old teenager who was born in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur to an unknown mother and adopted by a Malaysian couple.