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KUALA LUMPUR – The incoming government must ensure that Malaysian women are able to pass on citizenship to their overseas-born children, women’s rights activists said.
The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) said that as this was one of Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto, new prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must commit to fulfilling it.
According to Malaysia’s constitution, children born overseas to foreign fathers who married Malaysian women do not get citizenship automatically. However, children born overseas to Malaysian fathers who are married to foreign women are able to become citizens.
Congratulating Anwar on becoming the country’s 10th prime minister, JAG, which is a collective of women’s groups, reminded the PH chairman of his coalition’s other promises on gender and equality – including improving the status of women and children, and enacting the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law that was passed in July 2022.
JAG also urged Anwar to appoint a credible and capable minister for women, family, and community development.
“The new government must comply with international obligations to gender equality and non-discrimination and usher in an era of protection and empowerment for all women and children in Malaysia.
“Women in Malaysia still face many obstacles to gender equality,” the coalition said, noting that these obstacles included less pay for the same work, as shown by figures from the Statistics Department. It also adds that the lack of children’s caretaking facilities at the workplace has led to a low female labour force participation rate.
Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said had told The Vibes in September that she was prepared to lead a delegation of lawmakers to Istana Negara as part of the push to allow children born overseas to be granted citizenship through their Malaysian mothers.
This followed a motion filed by her and several other MPs in the Dewan Rakyat for the tabling of a private member’s bill to amend the federal constitution to grant equal rights to both parents in regard to the nationality of their kids.
On August 5, the Court of Appeal overturned the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s landmark decision in September last year granting equal citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.
The appellate court decided that the six mothers, who managed to get documents from the National Registration Department, will get to keep the Malaysian citizenship already conferred to their overseas-born children.
The judges also ruled that pending applications will be frozen pending the appeal at the Federal Court.
On September 9 last year, the high court ruled that Malaysian mothers have the right to confer citizenship on their children born overseas, on an equal basis with Malaysian men.
It ruled that Article 14(1)(b) of the constitution, together with the Second Schedule, Part II, Section 1(b) pertaining to citizenship rights, must be read in harmony with Article 8(2), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.
Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir said the word “father” must be read to include mothers, and that their children are entitled to citizenship by operation of law.
Malaysia is one of 25 countries that does not give mothers and fathers equal rights when it comes to passing on citizenship to their children. The constitution grants Malaysian fathers the automatic right to confer citizenship on their children born overseas, but not Malaysian mothers. – The Vibes, November 25, 2022