00:00Every morning, Mariam Sakai threads beads between her fingers,
00:05weaving intricate patterns that carry the spirit of her Lundaye heritage.
00:09But unlike her beadwork, Mariam's own story of belonging has been anything but seamless.
00:15Born in 1969 in Kampung Kualapuntih, Keningau,
00:19she is the eldest of 15 siblings in a Lundaye family,
00:23one of Sabah's recognized Bumiputra communities.
00:25While her parents migrated from Indonesia in the early 1960s,
00:30her younger siblings were all issued blue MyCards.
00:34Mariam, who was born, schooled, and raised in Malaysia, carried a red one for much of her life.
00:40She was only 12 when she realized how different her path would be.
00:44A birth certificate, she learned, was not enough to grant the rights of citizenship.
00:49Government aid applications were often rejected,
00:51her child was denied a PTPTN loan,
00:55and the questions about her red MyCard left her struggling for words.
00:59Bila saya kena tanya mengenai IC,
01:05bila saya katakan yang saya PR dulu,
01:08itu menjadi satu kerendahan bagi saya, kekurangan diri lah.
01:14Jadi, walau saya suka, macam mana pun,
01:17bila saya pikir yang saya nitit lengkap,
01:21jadi diam saja lah.
01:23Begitu aja.
01:24It took decades of paperwork, witness testimonies,
01:42and relentless persistence
01:43before Mariam finally received her blue MyCard in her thirties.
01:47Selepas dapat MyCard,
01:52ini warga negara ini,
01:54memang banyak lah perbisaan dia.
01:58Contoh?
01:58Ya.
01:59Salah satu,
02:00saya boleh pergi melancong.
02:02Today, Mariam is an entrepreneur,
02:08creating and selling traditional Lundaye beadwork.
02:11Her hope is that others in her community,
02:14whose cross-border roots and bureaucratic hurdles
02:16have long-delayed citizenship,
02:19will not have to endure the same struggle.
02:21Saya haraplah untuk masa akan datang ini,
02:26kalau boleh,
02:27kalau boleh lah ini kerajaan kan,
02:30permudahkanlah,
02:30permudahkanlah urusan orang-orang seperti kami inilah
02:34yang untuk memohon warga negara ini.
02:37Kalau adalah salah satu di antara orang tua kami
02:41yang sudah memegang ke warga negara,
02:45bagilah bah anak cucu kami,
02:48warga negara itu,
02:48untuk diwarisi.
02:51Jangan kasih waris kami yang,
02:54kalau kami orang yang keberkemampuan pun,
02:56kalau kami tidak memiliki dekomen itu,
03:00tidak guna juga.
03:01Dia tidak akan kemana-mana.
03:03Di situ-situ juga lah.
03:05For Mariam,
03:06recognition as a Malaysian citizen
03:08carries a weight that words can hardly capture.
03:12She admits that National Day once felt bittersweet,
03:14but now it is a moment of pride and gratitude.
03:18Terima kasih.
03:20Terima kasih.
03:20You
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