KUALA LUMPUR: Growing up stateless has left sisters Jesmin and Juliana Devona with bitter memories and questions to which they may never find answers.
"I have so many questions, (like) why is this happening to us?," Jesmin, 17, told the New Straits Times.
"Our friends and teachers will ask (about our stateless status) and I do not know how to answer them. Some friends tease me about it."
Jesmin said she had been bullied over her citizenship status online and in person.
"At first, I felt sad, but now I tell myself not to let it affect me so much.
"The words are hurtful, but I need to get over them."
The girls are being cared for by their aunts and grandmother, who are helping them with their citizenship applications.
Without citizenship, Jesmin said they feel left out.
"When it comes to things like competitions, we cannot join because we do not have a MyKad."
She that they also couldn't take part in school trips or camps like their classmates.
Jesmin, who will sit her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia this year, is worried about her prospects.
Juliana, 16, said the system was "unfair".
"There was a girl in the same situation as us in school with a Malaysian father and foreign mother. She recently got her MyKad.
"How did she get it when we didn't? It's unfair."
Still, she is hopeful that their third citizenship application in 11 years will be approved.
"We worry about what the future holds for us," she said.