MCA: Expedite citizenship amendment for mothers

Summary

• Wanita MCA urges the government to expedite gazetting the constitutional amendment granting Malaysian mothers equal rights to confer citizenship to overseas-born children.

• Sarawak United Peoples' Party calls for faster citizenship approvals, citing hardships faced by stateless families due to bureaucratic delays.

A court settlement now allows affected mothers to apply for citizenship for their under-18 overseas-born children, but the amendment passed in 2023 remains ungazetted.

MCA’s women’s wing has urged the government to expedite gazetting a constitutional amendment bill passed last year that would give Malaysian mothers the equal right to confer automatic citizenship on children born overseas.

Wanita MCA chairperson Wong You Fong said the court settlement between Family Frontiers and the government today is a positive step, but ensuring equality between a married couple in conferring citizenship to their children remains “a long, uphill battle”.

“Any further delays (in gazetting the amendment) leave Malaysian mothers and especially their children born overseas in a quandary of being neither here nor there, and even stateless.

“It is time to uphold the principles of equality and justice for children of Malaysian mothers born abroad,” Wong said in a statement today.

Expedite approval process

Sarawak United Peoples' Party secretary-general Sebastian Ting urged the government to expedite the approval process when reviewing citizenship applications.

He said he has personally witnessed the hardships faced by stateless families, including bureaucratic hurdles and restricted access to essential services.

He urged the government to also consider the hardships faced by the applicants and avoid subjecting them to lengthy waiting periods.

“The complex application procedures place an enormous burden on both children and parents.

“Some children are even denied access to healthcare and education, experiencing discrimination due to their stateless status,” he said in a separate statement.

Settlement with govt

Earlier today, the six Malaysian mothers reached a settlement with the government over the right to confer Malaysian citizenship to their foreign-born children. Previously, only Malaysian fathers can confer such rights.

As part of the terms of the settlement, however, other Malaysian mothers in similar predicaments as the six mothers could now apply to the Home Ministry for citizenship of their children born overseas under the age of 18.

Previously, Parliament has passed a constitutional amendment to impart automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers.

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

However, the amendment passed in October last year has yet to be gazetted into law.

According to today’s consent order, an under-18 child born overseas to a Malaysian mother and foreign father, before the enforcement of the Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2024, may apply for Malaysian citizenship per Article 15(2) of the Federal Constitution.

Article 15(2) of the Federal Constitution permits children under 21 with at least one Malaysian parent to be registered as citizens.

The consent term states that the child would be granted citizenship if the application meets the requirements of Article 26(1) of the Constitution, follows the procedures under Article 15(2), and includes all required supporting documents, as laid out under the Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2024.

Apart from Wong, Family Frontiers have also urged the government to gazette the amendment without further delay.

“Until then, Malaysian mothers living abroad will continue to face the burdensome and costly journey of returning to Malaysia to secure citizenship for their overseas-born children. It is time to ease their hardship and uphold the principles of equality and fairness for all Malaysian families.

“The Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2024 gives Malaysian women the long-overdue right to pass on citizenship to their overseas-born children, just as Malaysian men can,” it said earlier in immediate response to the court’s consent judgment.

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