KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal has ruled that two adults born in Malaysia are not entitled to automatic Malaysian citizenship because their Malaysian fathers were not legally married to their foreign mothers when they were born.
In a unanimous decision on July 22, a three-member bench led by Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli upheld an earlier High Court ruling, finding that both applicants must follow the citizenship of their biological mothers under the Federal Constitution, as reported by Malay Mail.
The two applicants, identified only as J and D, were born in Kuala Lumpur and Teluk Intan, Perak, respectively. Although both were raised by their Malaysian fathers after their foreign mothers left them at a young age, the court held that they were born out of wedlock and therefore fall under Section 17 of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
The provision states that, for an illegitimate child, references to a parent are construed as referring to the mother.
As a result, J was held to follow the citizenship of her Indonesian mother, while D was found to follow that of his Filipino mother.
Delivering the judgment, Azhahari said the applicants failed to qualify for citizenship under Section 1(a) of Part II of the Second Schedule, which grants citizenship by operation of law to those born in Malaysia with at least one Malaysian citizen or permanent resident parent.
Although both had Malaysian biological fathers, the judge said Section 17 meant only their mothers could be considered for citizenship purposes because their parents were unmarried at the time of birth.
The court also rejected their claims under Section 1(e), which applies to children born in Malaysia who are not born citizens of any other country.
Azhahari said neither applicant could be regarded as stateless because each was entitled to claim citizenship through their foreign mother.
J, who is turning 30 this year, had lived in Malaysia her entire life and submitted DNA evidence confirming her relationship with her Malaysian father. She was initially issued a birth certificate identifying her as Malaysian and later obtained a Malaysian passport before her records were amended to reflect her status as a non-citizen when she applied for a MyKad at the age of 12.
She had unsuccessfully applied for citizenship four times under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution before turning 21 and later claimed she was not allowed to pursue naturalisation under Article 19.
D, who will turn 28 this year, also presented DNA evidence confirming his relationship with his Malaysian father. His Filipino mother left when he was an infant, while his father, who raised him, died in 2022.
He told the court that being stateless had prevented him from pursuing higher education, obtaining a driving licence, opening bank accounts and securing employment. He also argued that denying him citizenship based on his parents' marital status amounted to gender discrimination.
However, the Court of Appeal applied the same constitutional interpretation to both cases, relying on the Federal Court's 2021 decision in the CTEB citizenship case and earlier Court of Appeal rulings.
The panel, which also comprised Datuk Faizah Jamaludin and Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, dismissed both appeals.
Last month, the same bench similarly rejected the citizenship appeals of three Malaysia-born individuals born to Malaysian fathers and foreign mothers who were not married at the time of their births. The applicants may still seek leave to appeal to the Federal Court.
