Grandad of stateless 15-year-old Kapit girl appeals to authorities to approve citizenship application  

KAPIT (Dec 10): The paternal grandfather of a 15-year-old girl here is appealing to the authorities to approve her citizenship application.

James Minggu @ Jembu Serang, 73, said his granddaughter Auroya Ladyanu’s application for citizenship was made on Nov 28, 2023 under the National Registration Department’s (JPN) Special Task Force Operation Programme (PPK).

Auroya, who was born on Nov 14, 2010, is the daughter of James’ son Rodie Kanang and Indonesian Eka Susanti.

She is currently studying in Form 3 at SMK Kapit.

“Over the past two years, on four occasions, I visited JPN Kapit Office to enquire about the application. On May 25, 2024, the response was application in process. On Nov 21, 2024, the application was supposed to be processed at JPN Kuching headquarters.

“This year on April 7, 2025, when I again visited JPN Kapit, I was told the application was at JPN headquarters in Putrajaya, but recently as of Oct 21, 2025 there is still no response,” he shared with reporters.

James questioned why Auroya’s application has taken so long to process and approve.

“Auroya is growing up. When school reopens, she will be in Form 4. How much longer will JPN need to process her application?” he asked.

He added as Auroya’s grandfather and guardian, he is very concerned about the outcome of her application.

The federal government set up PPK to address the issue of statelessness in Sarawak.

In 2024, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the task force was set to end in August but had been extended upon the request of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

According to Saifuddin, the initiative reflects the government’s responsibility to provide identification documents to its people without compromising legal or security concerns.