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KUALA LUMPUR – The National Registration Department will facilitate the processing of citizenship documents for three Malaysian mothers’ overseas-born children within three months following the recent Court of Appeal decision.
A week ago, the appellate court denied Putrajaya’s stay of execution application against a high court decision that confirmed Malaysian mothers’ equal rights to automatically confer citizenship to their overseas-born children.
The department will then issue citizenship confirmation certificates to the children, which can be used to apply for Malaysian identification cards.
Family Frontiers, the organisation representing the affected mothers, said in a statement that in line with the high court judgment, mothers in similar situations can head to the nearest NRD office to apply for MyKad/MyKid on behalf of their children.
It added that NRD told them that its officers, Malaysian embassies, and high commissions will be given instructions to facilitate citizenship applications.
On September 9, the high court ruled that the federal constitution prohibits gender discrimination, and allows mothers married to foreign husbands to confer citizenship on their children by operation of the law.
Following the decision, Putrajaya filed an appeal to the high court along with a stay application.
On November 15, however, the high court dismissed the government’s stay application, prompting the cabinet to file another appeal. On December 22, the Court of Appeal denied Putrajaya’s stay of execution application against a high court decision.
The government filed an interim stay to temporarily suspend the implementation of the high court order pending the hearing of the mainstay application on March 18, 2022. – The Vibes, December 29, 2021