Disabled child's future uncertain as Bangladeshi father faces deportation

New Straits Times

17-05-2025

Slug: izbangladeshi
HL: Disabled child's future uncertain as Bangladeshi father faces deportation
Ahmad Hasbi
SEREMBAN: A disabled seven-year-old girl is now under the care of her Bangladeshi father following the death of her Malaysian mother.
However, the father, Mohammad Ala Uddin, 39, holds only a temporary visitation pass that expires on May 27, and he is not eligible to work in Malaysia.
Ala Uddin said his daughter, Siti Aminah Mohammad Ala Uddin, a Malaysian citizen, was born without a womb, has hearing difficulties, a single kidney, and a disability affecting her right hand.
"I returned to Bangladesh previously and re-entered Malaysia at the end of April to apply for a long-term visitation pass.
"However, after completing the documents, my wife passed away last Sunday, and now I am the sole caregiver for my daughter.
"It is more difficult to apply for the temporary pass now that my wife has died. I am worried about my daughter's future if I am arrested or deported," he told Harian Metro when met in Senawang yesterday.
The late Nur Shaillah Revathy Abdullah, 35, a Muslim convert, died last Sunday due to heart complications.
The father, who married in 2017, is currently ineligible to work and relies on the RM300 monthly assistance from the Welfare Department, which is channelled under his daughter's name.
When asked why he had never applied for a long-term visitation pass before, Ala Uddin was unable to explain clearly due to a language barrier.
However, he said he had previously attempted to apply through an intermediary but was cheated out of RM7,500 without any application being submitted.
His neighbour, Nor Azlina Helan Harold, 47, said the mother had worked as a cleaner and always picked up her daughter after school.
"They are in a difficult situation, and it has only worsened now because Aminah is being cared for by her father, who is a Bangladeshi national," she said.
Meanwhile, Persatuan Cakna Rasa Sayang (PCRS) patron Zulkifli Muhamed said his team was specifically called in to assist Siti Aminah and safeguard her future.
"PCRS is committed to helping this man, not only in terms of living assistance and verifying his residence status in the country, but most importantly in ensuring that this child receives adequate support, including in matters of religious belief," he said.
He added that his association would assist the single father in applying for a long-term visitation pass at the Immigration Department office in Putrajaya as soon as possible.
Zulkifli also expressed concern that the father's current visitation pass status could jeopardise his daughter's well-being and cut off his source of income, as he is unable to work legally.