Refer citizenship amendment bill to PSSC - Suhakam

Suhakam strongly calls for the government to refer the citizenship amendment bill to the joint Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Human Rights, Election and Institutional Reform, and Women, Children, and Community Development.

This is so it can be further scrutinised as the bill continues to raise significant concern among stakeholders and civil society organisations, who are worried over its potential impact, the human rights commission said.

"The voices of the people cannot and should not be sidelined in the legislative process.

“Suhakam reminds the government of its duty to uphold democratic principles and ensure that laws passed are representative of the public interest.

"A referral to the PSSC will provide the necessary platform for further scrutiny, allowing for comprehensive feedback from all relevant sectors of society," it said in a statement today.

The highly controversial bill was supposed to be debated and voted on in March but the government moved to end the Dewan Rakyat session just before the debate.

The second and third readings of the amendment bill will be tabled in Parliament in the ongoing session.

As the bill involves amending the Constitution, it would require the support of two-thirds of Dewan Rakyat members, which is 148 votes.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said his ministry had taken the feedback of various stakeholders including civil society movements, Suhakam, and constitutional experts and acted accordingly to improve the bill.

However he expressed disappointment over “sweeping statements” branding the government’s citizenship amendment proposal as evil and cruel.

Problematic changes

Suhakam said it has been engaged in several consultations on the bill with the ministry and put forward its concerns on the substantive arguments of the bill and its consequences.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | How could constitutional changes make more people stateless?

"Whilst several consensuses have been reached, Suhakam maintains its position on our dissent to the proposed amendment of the removal of the automatic citizenship to children of permanent residents.

"Moreover, Suhakam strongly urges the application of retrospective effect for children born overseas of Malaysian mother and non-Malaysian father after September 2001 as stated in our previous statement," it added.

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