.png)
YESTERDAY, our nation was bestowed with yet another victory in the incessant battle to uphold citizenship rights of stateless children, who have strong and valid links to the country, with the Federal Court’s decision to grant Malaysian citizenship to a Kuala Lumpur-born adopted stateless child.
The victory is indeed crucial as it paves a much-needed path for children abandoned at birth in Malaysia to acquire citizenship, and is made more significant as it coincides with the 2021 World Children’s Day, today.
This development also echoes with the commitment made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to protect all children regardless of their race, religion, citizenship or other status, through his speech at the 2021 World Children’s Day celebration at Parliament building on November 18.
However, at present, a completely opposite scenario is faced by Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA Malaysia), as well as other related NGOs, in the attempts to engage the government on issues concerning Malaysian families.
Over the years, DHRRA Malaysia has consistently brought up concerns and shared on-ground reality regarding stateless children, yet thus far, the issue has not garnered attention from relevant authorities and decision-makers.
This is worsened by frequent shifts in policymaking that go hand in hand with frequent changes in the government of the day in our country and thus, following up with commitments made by the previous policymakers becomes almost impossible.
As our prime minister has aptly stated, a lot of efforts need to be channelled to protect all children in Malaysia and to safeguard their rights to proper education and to create an environment conducive for them to be raised in, so they may achieve their full potential and chase their dreams.
This is especially so in the case of stateless children who are deprived of all rights, including equal opportunity to access education, healthcare and right to movement accorded to a Malaysian citizen.
They are deemed as not belonging to the country, and are not allowed to access rights with dignity, though the majority of them are born to at least one Malaysian parent and some abandoned in Malaysia with no traces of their parents. These children are penalised and forced to suffer consequences through no fault of their own.
Whilst in the past, the authorities have linked nationality to security concerns, the grim and worrying fact that thousands of children born and living in Malaysia are not able to acquire citizenship of the country is often overlooked.
Thus far, no concrete efforts have been made to tackle the causes of childhood statelessness in Malaysia, especially the gender inequality provisions in our nationality law.
While countries all around the world are making necessary adjustments to their nationality laws to protect children born on their soil, no such measures have been taken by our country.
It is no surprise that we remain as one of the only three countries in the world that denies men equal rights to confer nationality to their children who are born outside a legal marriage.
When a child does not have any form of legal identification, he or she is subjected to prolonged denial to basic rights and opportunities required for them to grow and progress as an individual, which will inadvertently have a tremendous impact on their mental health, as well as that of their families.
This is attested by increasing mental health issues among stateless children and youth observed by DHRRA Malaysia through its grassroots interventions. If not tackled promptly, this is an issue that could have severe repercussions on the well-being and development of Malaysian society as a whole.
And therefore, whilst DHRRA Malaysia applauds the prime minister’s commitment and his stance on the importance of prioritising protection and the best interests of child in addressing the needs of vulnerable children, we do hope that his words will not remain words but will be translated into concrete actions that will cumulate into inclusive protection of all children in Malaysia. – The Vibes, November 20, 2021