PUTRAJAYA: The concern of a Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student from Sabah about the possibility that she may not get a scholarship because her mother has not yet obtained permanent resident status (PR) has caught the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

This was voiced by Stephanie Juditha Sebastian during a dialogue session with the Prime Minister at the Putrajaya Idea Festival (Putrajaya FOI) at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, here yesterday.

Stephanie said that despite being born and raised in the state, her mother has yet to obtain Malaysian citizenship and despite various efforts since 1990, it has not yielded any results.

"The issue of citizenship is 'famous' in Sabah. For example, my mother was born and raised in Sabah but until now she has not received a PR. This worries me a lot because to apply for the scholarship (among the conditions) both parents must have citizenship," she said.

The Prime Minister then asked the student to submit an official letter along with complete documents to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for further action.

Ahmad Zahid, who was also present at the dialogue session, encouraged the student to submit the letter to him: "Give the letter to uncle, let uncle settle it," he said