Without citizenship, youth dreams of musical career
Eugene is a good student and active in music and swimming, but cannot even get a driving licence due to his lack of official documents.
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Like most other 17-year-olds, Eugene (not his real name) will be sitting for his Form 5 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination this year.
Beyond that, though, nothing in his life is certain.
Eugene, who never knew his birth parents, was raised in a foster family.
His adoptive mother, who asked to be known as Mrs Low, took him in as a baby as his birth mother was unable to raise him on her own.
His first birth certificate categorised him as a citizen of Malaysia. When he turned 12, though, and went to apply for a MyKad, the National Registration Department refused to issue the document.
His status was also changed to "to be determined" due to a lack of information about his biological parents.
Mrs Low managed to send Eugene to a government school but had to pay a levy in order to do so.
She also continued trying to apply for Eugene's citizenship but to no avail.
"My son was raised in Malaysia and is fluent in Malay," she said in a recent interview with MalaysiaNow.
"He's also familiar with all of the customs and cultures in the country."
But none of this has brought Eugene any closer to his dream of becoming a Malaysian citizen.
Mrs Low is also struggling financially as she will have to pay more for Eugene's education once he leaves secondary school.
She and her husband divorced in 2013, and she is now raising Eugene as a single mother.
She is also trying to find a way for Eugene to attend driving school so that he can get a driving licence – a seemingly impossible task given his lack of official documents.
Eugene himself dreams of becoming a professional musician one day.
"I took acoustic guitar lessons until Grade 3 and am now at Grade 5 in electric guitar," he said.
But while he is part of a band and participates in group performances, his wider movements are limited.
Whenever his family goes on holiday overseas, he remains at home by himself.
Music aside, Eugene is also a good swimmer and has joined a large number of camps and programmes related to science and technology.
Mrs Low's greatest fear is what will happen to him as he continues to leave childhood behind.
"How will I send him to college?" she said.
"He wants to study music in the UK one day."
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