Kuala Lampur, July 23 -- Kitty Genovese comes to mind reading the news about Velmurugan, female J and male D at the Appeals Court yesterday. Sadness also prevails on days like these.

Three of them denied the right to be Malaysian despite being born here, raised here.

Velmurugan endures the ignominy of his entire extended family having Mykad minus him. His wife and kids are Malaysians. Because his late mum's documentation was inconclusive and by extension his too, the 38-year-old lives without a country to call his own.

Female J's Indonesian mum's whereabouts are unknown. As are male D's Filipino mum's. J is 30 years of age, while D is two years younger. Both have Malaysian fathers proven by DNA tests.

There are lengthy explanations in...