After being stateless in Sri Lanka for 60 years, Siti Fatimah Akbar finally sees a glimmer of hope in returning to her country of birth with assistance from the Malaysian government according to Free Malaysia Today.

The 72-year-old woman is joyous at the prospect of returning to Malaysia, her beloved country that she left when she was 12.

“I have been a stateless person over the past 60 years and my longing for Malaysia is just unbearable,” she told Bernama when met at the official residence of the Malaysian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah, here recently.

Siti Fatimah was among a handful of Malaysians who attended a dinner in conjunction with the visit of the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail with a delegation from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) for the ‘Jelajah Ilmu’ programme to Sri Lanka.

The Penang-born septuagenarian, who has been living in the Sri Lankan capital for almost her entire life, may be caught up with age but her eyes were glowing with excitement when told about life back in Malaysia.

“I only lived in Malaysia for 12 years after my (late) father took me to reside here.

“We left after my father finished his stint as a teacher and principal of a private school in Kuala Lumpur when the country had yet to gain independence,” said Siti Fatimah, who can still converse in Bahasa Malaysia but found it more comfortable to speak in English.

She said as an adult, she often thought of returning to Malaysia but did not have the relevant documents to proof her citizenship.

“I’m grateful as the Malaysian High Commission Office here is very concerned over my plight and put so much effort to find evidence suggesting that I’m actually a Malaysian.

“Although I’m so deeply ingrained with Sri Lankan food, I miss Malaysian food,” she said while enjoying her dinner with a Bernama reporter.

Her 47-year-old son, Ibrahim Shahood said his mother often talked about Malaysia and really wanted to return home.

“We’ve put in our effort including looking for the supporting documents to confirm that she is a Malaysian,” said the man who is now working for a disaster management agency here.

He said Siti Fatimah still had close relatives in Perak and Selangor, who used to visit her in Colombo.

Meanwhile, Wan Zaidi said the woman’s chances of returning to Malaysia looked promising as all the relevant documents were now being prepared.

According to him, the woman could come back to Malaysia as a citizen once the documentation process was over.