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KUALA LUMPUR – Now that the government has committed to reverse the problem of non-citizenship among foreign-born children of Malaysian mothers, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged for the longstanding quandary of statelessness among other groups to be resolved.
The commission said that statelessness has caused many hardships, such as limited access to healthcare and education, as well as social distress and stigma for the children and their families.
“Suhakam urges the government to also address other issues of statelessness involving adopted and foundling children in Malaysia, Orang Asli, natives of Sabah and Sarawak, children born out of wedlock or unregistered marriages, undocumented people, and others,” it said in a statement today.
“In 2022, Suhakam has received 138 complaints involving statelessness,” it added.
It said this in expressing its commitment to support the implementation of the government’s decision, which involves amending relevant parts of the federal constitution.
Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said announced the cabinet’s decision to amend the constitution and allow Malaysian mothers married to foreign spouses to pass their citizenship to their children born overseas.
The amendment involves Part I section 1(1)(d) and Part II section 1(b) and section 1(c) under the Second Schedule of the constitution, to confer citizenship by operation of law to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers married to a non-Malaysian spouse.
The amendments would entail replacing the word “father” with “at least one of the parents” (“sekurang-kurangnya seorang daripada ibu bapanya”).
This change would allow Malaysian mothers to have equal rights under the constitution, the ministers added.
Currently, only Malaysian fathers with a foreign spouse enjoy the right to confer citizenship on their children born overseas.
They said the amendment bill is expected to be tabled in the current Parliament session, which ends on March 30 for the Dewan Rakyat.
Suhakam said this is an important step in fulfilling the rights of Malaysian women and children in accordance with the country’s obligations to the Convention on the Rights of a Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
It stated that the government’s decision is a huge step in ensuring the protection and recognition of the human rights of every Malaysian, regardless of gender or place of birth.
Suhakam also revealed that according to the previous minister’s statement, a total of 2,352 citizenship applications were received between 2018 to 2021 by Malaysian mothers. – The Vibes, February 19, 2023