The plight of stateless children in Malaysia was "appalling" while the government's indifference to it was "shameful", said Pakatan Harapan de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"The government has shown no interest or political will to resolve this matter. It is shameful that stateless children have to file legal actions and be dragged through a series of appeals simply to obtain the basic right of citizenship.

"Whilst the legal process must take its course, I am appalled that large numbers of stateless Malaysian children are still without this basic right," Anwar said in a statement today.

Yesterday, the Federal Court granted leave to appeal three separate cases on stateless children, where adoptive parents or the biological parents wanted the court to determine in terms of granting those affected with a citizenship...