Abandoned by their Indonesian mother in 2016, the children came to the attention of Sheila and her neighbours, who noticed them frequenting the playground opposite her home in a northern suburb of the capital.
“We saw that they were around most of the time and we knew something was wrong. We found out they were not going to school,” she told FMT.
Sheila also found out that the children, then aged between 4 and 11, lived with their Malaysian father, Ee Sun Seng, who had to take care of them by himself.
That’s when Sheila and her neighbours decided to take matters in hand, to ensure these children could lead normal lives. “One of my neighbours went to the home and expressed our concern. We offered to look after the kids when the father was at work.”
Sheila contacted the social welfare department to help the father formally adopt his own children, to pave the way for birth certificates to be issued. However, the children do not have citizenship and they are officially listed as stateless.
“We have put in an application for (citizenship) for all five. But that was quite a process and we did that one and a half years ago. When the kids get a chance to belong that would be a blessing,” Sheila said.
A seven-year transformation
Over the past seven years, the children have been frequent visitors at Sheila’s home and the two eldest ones even have their own rooms there and have essentially become part of her family.
However, Sheila found it was not always easy to understand them. “There were so many things about them that I didn’t know. I didn’t know that they wouldn’t know what a 2B pencil was.
“My husband and I had to teach them how to use the washroom. They would never take anything or eat anything without being given. They didn’t know how to own anything,” she said.
The children, now aged between 11 and 18, have blossomed with confidence and resilience.
“Now they’re okay. When they’re hungry they open the fridge and they just eat. It’s great.
“I think they’re also coming to the stage where they’re beginning to trust people. And so, I invite them to bring their friends home for sleepovers,” she said.
Sheila and her husband, Abdul Rahman Ishak, have also taken the children on holiday to Penang, where they saw the sea for the first time, an almost surreal experience for them.
“They have seen it on TV, but when you go there yourself, you can smell it, you can feel the water,” she said.
Proud Malaysians
Although they are stateless, Sheila said the children are proud to call Malaysia their home. Malaysia is all they know, having been born and lived here all their lives.
“They even love wearing shirts bearing our flag. Abang is a football fanatic and supports Johor Darul Takzim (JDT). And they speak the language, our Bahasa Melayu. That’s their first language,” she said.
Sheila said she hoped the stateless community in Malaysia could receive some form of support.
“There needs to be speedier processing (of citizenship applications), especially through the use of the minister’s prerogative. This is about kids who (deserve to) get a chance at life to contribute to the country.
“You may not see their wounds or their broken hearts. It’s very sad and I just hope that we can do better for our children,” she said.
In recognition of her extraordinary dedication, Sheila, a former journalist, was honoured with the National Press Club-MacroKiosk Muhibbah Award on Oct 31, celebrating her contribution to transforming the lives of these five children.