PETALING JAYA: A committee will be formed and led by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also head of the Security Cluster, to address and overcome problems faced by women in according citizenship to their children born overseas with a foreign spouse.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the decision on forming the committee was made at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
On Wednesday, theSun reported that NGOs were calling for speedy constitutional amendments to give women the same rights as men on the matter.
The issue had even caught the attention of the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls.
UN experts had stressed that the decision contravenes Malaysia’s obligations under international law and there was a need to interpret all constitutional provisions concerning citizenship, and its transference, without discrimination based on sex.
They also said such affected women were less likely to leave abusive relationships and that their children risk being stateless.
Wan Junaidi said the government had wanted to form a committee after a High Court decision on the issue and had asked the Conference of Rulers to allow an interim to facilitate a thorough study of the matter.
“After the Court of Appeal makes a decision, the committee will have no mandate whatsoever to (review) the matter. The issue of citizenship must be referred to the Conference of Rulers because our Constitution does not approve of dual citizenship. That is why we asked for a stay of execution.
“We had a Cabinet meeting, where we decided to form a committee to address and overcome the issue. This committee will be led by Hishammuddin and (involve) my office and also the Home Affairs Ministry under Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.”
Wan Junaidi said Hishammuddin will receive instructions from the Cabinet to address the citizenship issue.
“I believe he is the right man to lead the committee,” he said, adding that UN experts could always comment on the issue, “but it is a long and hard process to overcome the matter”.
On Tuesday, All Women’s Action Society information and communications officer Jernell C.E. Tan said the inability of women to automatically accord nationality to their children is an expression of a state’s position that the father plays a more significant role in his child’s legal identity.
She said this perpetuates the patriarchal idea of women’s inferiority and discounts women’s responsibility and role as a parent.
Family Frontiers executive council member Chee Yoke Ling said the UN was correct to say that Malaysia has not fulfilled its obligations under two UN human rights treaties that were merged in 1995.
“In September 2001, Parliament unanimously supported the amendment of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution to include the word ‘gender’ so that there would be no discrimination against Malaysians based on religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law.
“Unfortunately, every successive government has failed to remove the discrimination in Article 14(1)(b), that recognises the right of fathers to automatically (accord) Malaysian citizenship to their children wherever they are born, regardless of the mother’s citizenship.”