Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email KUALA LUMPUR: The guardians of Jahira and Jannath Beevi, 10, can heave a sigh of relief. The twin girls have received their Malaysian citizenship.
This was all thanks to the efforts of their “godfather” Negri Sembilan executive council member Datuk T. Rajagopalu.
The twins' predicament started six months after they were born in India.
Their mother, Rahmaht Bibi, married Indian national Sirajudeen in June 1994 and gave birth to the twins on Dec 4, 1997. Six months later, Rahmaht became a quadriplegic and was abandoned by her husband.
Rahmaht's father, Mohd Ibrahim Abdul Razak, 68, obtained Indian passports for the twins and took them back in 1998.
When Rahmaht died in February 1999, Mohd Ibrahim approached Rajagopalu for help.
Rajagopalu thanked Home Affairs Ministry secretary general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat for approving the twins' application for citizenship.
Mohd Ibrahim, who is getting RM300 as welfare assistance for the twins, said: “A huge burden has been taken off our shoulders as we were worried about their future.”
The twins are studying in Year Four in SJK (T) San Peng.
