Muhyiddin wants citizenship bill sent to Parliament committee first

PARLIAMENT | Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has raised concern over several portions of the Citizenship Amendment Bill and urged Putrajaya to review them.

In his debate speech today, the Perikatan Nasional chairperson argued that the bill has some “loopholes” and suggested that it be referred to a parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) before it can be passed by the Dewan Rakyat.

Muhyiddin (PN-Pagoh) cited two main issues in the bill, one being Putrajaya’s proposal to require children - whose parents are non-Malaysian permanent residents - to apply for citizenship.

This is opposed to the current law where they are accorded automatic citizenship.

“I am of the view that this proposed amendment should be reviewed,” he said.

The other issue was with the proposal to lower the age limit for citizenship applications from 21 to 18.

According to the opposition leader, lowering the age limit would pose a risk to applicants falling victim to bureaucratic delays in the processing of their citizenship applications.

Citing his experience helming the Home Ministry, Muhyiddin said there were many cases where citizenship applications took a long time to be processed, which according to him can lead to the applicants losing their eligibility once their age passes the limit.

“Unless the Home Ministry can give an assurance that all applications under Article 15A (of the Federal Constitution) can be fast-tracked, to prevent the applicants from losing their eligibility,” he said.

Issues addressed

For the record, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, in a special briefing session with the media last week, addressed the two issues raised by Muhyiddin.

The minister said then that the proposal to lower the age limit was necessary as, under the country’s law, a person is no longer considered a child after he or she reaches the age of 18.

He also assured that the amendment will not affect applicants’ eligibility due to bureaucratic delays as their eligibility will be based on the date they submit their applications.

On the proposal to rescind automatic citizenship for children of permanent residents born in Malaysia, Saifuddin had said that being born in the country “is not a ticket to be a citizen”.

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