Story: Malaysians and Singaporeans

Sugirthamani Shaw receives a corsage from Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick at a citizenship ceremony in 2014. Sugi, a scientist at Rotorua Hospital, who married a New Zealander and had two sons, lived in New Zealand for 36 years before becoming a citizen. Telling her family in Malaysia was difficult: ‘It took me that long to pluck up the courage.’