DNA Paternity Test Enables Yanesha to Become a Malaysian Citizen
A 13-year-old girl named Yanesha filed a law suit to obtain Malaysian citizenship. She has successfully proved she is the biological daughter of a lorry-driving Malaysian citizen and is now entitled to her much anticipated citizenship.
Yanesha is a hardworking student and every year has been going through the time consuming and expensive process of applying for a student pass to be able to continue her studies. To enroll in a government school she has had to obtain a ‘pas pelajar’, (student pass) from the Immigration Department. She was also facing problems with sitting her final exams. So she got herself a lawyer with the help of her auntie and they tried several times to get the National Registration Department (NRD) to award her the citizenship she felt she had the right to. It wasn’t until the Government requested a DNA paternity test and the results came back positive that the NRD finally did sit up and listen.
Yanesha’s father, S. Nanthakumar, is Malaysian and her mother Judith Guballo is Filipina. Yanesha filed her lawsuit through her auntie S.Yogeswari with whom she has taken up residence after her parents’ divorce. As a part of the evidence-gathering process the government asked her to take a DNA Paternity Test with her father to prove her eligibility for citizenship. A report dated April 26th 2013 came from the chemistry department and confirmed that indeed she was daughter of the above-mentioned Malaysian citizen.
Yanesha’s lawyer, Annou Xavier, said that Yanesha was born at Bandar Sunway on May 3, 1999 and ended up living with her auntie after her parents separated. “She was given a birth certificate with the status ‘Bukan Warganegara’ (not Malaysian citizen)”. Yanesha and her auntie had been to the NRD many times to try to rectify the situation but her status always remained the same. Yanesha is also seeking a declaration that she is a citizen under the Federal Constitution. She also wants damages as compensation.
A DNA Paternity Test, Hard Work and Persistence Pays Off
High Court Judge Justice Rosilah Yop asked the parties named in the civil dispute to settle the claim after the DNA findings confirmed she was indeed the biological daughter. The defendants (NRD), claimed the girl had not made a claim or had delayed making the claim for citizenship. However, Xavier, her lawyer stated the girl had applied in 2005 and 2011 but no response had been given by the NRD. A happy ending for Yanesha as her hard work paid off, she was awarded citizenship and can continue with her studies as a Malaysian citizen as she deserves.
The case is interesting for Malaysia DNA testing as it sets a precedent for other potential immigration related cases where the client may need a DNA paternity test for proof of a biological relationship between a father and child or mother and child. It is also remarkable because of the age of the plaintiff, only 13, and her persistence in pursuing her citizenship and in the process managed to take the government institution NRD to task over their mishandling of her case.
DNA Paternity Test in Malaysia
International Biosciences accept orders for a DNA Paternity Test throughout Malaysia. We also have an authorised sample collection facility in Kuala Lumpur for legal cases.
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