Dec 14 hearing set for Family Frontiers’ leave bid on citizenship issue

The Federal Court has fixed Dec 14 to hear Family Frontiers’ leave application to pursue an appeal to challenge the appellate court’s ruling related to the citizenship of overseas-born children.

Family Frontiers and six Malaysian mothers filed the appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling to deny automatic citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, one of the group’s lawyers Abraham Au today confirmed that the hearing of the application has been fixed for Dec 14.

On Aug 5, the Court of Appeal decided to allow the government’s appeal to overturn a 2021 landmark decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Malaysian mothers, like Malaysian fathers, can confer citizenship to children born overseas.

In the group’s notice of motion, they had stated their intentions to raise four legal questions involving novel constitutional issues for the Federal Court to decide.

In civil court cases, litigants must first secure leave before they can proceed with the appeal in the Federal Court.

On Sept 9 last year, the High Court declared that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers are automatically entitled to Malaysian citizenship.

The six Malaysian mothers and Family Frontiers had initially filed their civil action at the High Court on Dec 18, 2020.

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