Miss-Delectable
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If only this deaf man could hear...
A hearing-impaired red identity card holder missed his chance to obtain citizenship because a Home Ministry official told him about the citizenship interview date over the telephone.
Muhammad Ridhwan Abdullah, 43, did not attend the interview as he was unable to hear and understand what the official was telling him.
He must wait another five years before reapplying.
“I received a letter dated July 18 from the Home Ministry informing me that my application for citizenship was unsuccessful as I did not attend the interview,” said the odd-job worker, who can lip-read.
Ridhwan, from Kampung Sentosa Jaya, near here, said he went through many procedures in efforts to get citizenship.
On March 8, he received a letter from the ministry informing him that the status of his application would be known by Dec 31.
“When I read the letter, I thought I would just have to wait for their decision. I didn’t know about the interview.
“I can’t hear, so how can I know when I was asked to attend an interview? They should have known about my condition and sent a letter instead.”
Ridhwan was abandoned at birth and was raised at Sultan Abdul Aziz Children’s Home in Kuala Kangsar.
He made news last year for attempting to walk all the way from here to Putrajaya to meet Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil about getting welfare aid.
He eventually met Shahrizat at a Welfare Department gathering here and has since received the aid.
Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs officer Muhammad Zulkarnain Abdullah, who helped Ridhwan during his conversion, said he contacted the Home Ministry and was told that applicants could be informed about the citizenship interview
either by phone or mail.
“Ridhwan cannot hear. How is he going to understand anything over the phone? The ministry officials should admit their mistake and let him attend another interview.”
A hearing-impaired red identity card holder missed his chance to obtain citizenship because a Home Ministry official told him about the citizenship interview date over the telephone.
Muhammad Ridhwan Abdullah, 43, did not attend the interview as he was unable to hear and understand what the official was telling him.
He must wait another five years before reapplying.
“I received a letter dated July 18 from the Home Ministry informing me that my application for citizenship was unsuccessful as I did not attend the interview,” said the odd-job worker, who can lip-read.
Ridhwan, from Kampung Sentosa Jaya, near here, said he went through many procedures in efforts to get citizenship.
On March 8, he received a letter from the ministry informing him that the status of his application would be known by Dec 31.
“When I read the letter, I thought I would just have to wait for their decision. I didn’t know about the interview.
“I can’t hear, so how can I know when I was asked to attend an interview? They should have known about my condition and sent a letter instead.”
Ridhwan was abandoned at birth and was raised at Sultan Abdul Aziz Children’s Home in Kuala Kangsar.
He made news last year for attempting to walk all the way from here to Putrajaya to meet Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil about getting welfare aid.
He eventually met Shahrizat at a Welfare Department gathering here and has since received the aid.
Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs officer Muhammad Zulkarnain Abdullah, who helped Ridhwan during his conversion, said he contacted the Home Ministry and was told that applicants could be informed about the citizenship interview
either by phone or mail.
“Ridhwan cannot hear. How is he going to understand anything over the phone? The ministry officials should admit their mistake and let him attend another interview.”
