COMMENT | In Malaysia, the supreme law of the land enumerates four methods in acquiring Malaysian citizenship, and they are by way of operation of law (Article 14) or by registration (Articles 15, 15A, 16, 16A, and 18), or by naturalisation (Article 19) and finally by incorporation of territory (Article 22).

It is fascinating to note here that, as far as the law on citizenship in Malaysia is concerned, both the substantive and procedural requirements are exclusively housed in the Federal Constitution itself.

In practice, however, the application also needs to go through a process as stipulated under the Citizenship Rules 1964. The Rules 1964 came into operation when its predecessors - the Citizenship Rules 1960 and the Citizenship Rules 1962 - were repealed.

Unlike its predecessors, the 1964 Rules are relatively more relaxed. For instance, on the legal requirement of “good character”, it merely provides a guideline of “good character” and not a concrete definition.

Whereas under the old laws...