By Ida Nadirah Ibrahim
SHAH ALAM, Feb 18 — The agreement by the Cabinet to amend the Federal Constitution to enable automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers is prove of the Federal government’s commitment to institutional and legal reforms, says Juwairiya Zulkifli.
The Bukit Melawati state assemblyman said that the move is not merely political rhetoric and aligns with the recommendations of the spirit of Malaysia Madani, which she said is the commitment to put the people's interests as a priority under the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“This issue has been going on for many years without receiving a fair trial, especially for the children who are affected, due to the legal restrictions.
“I believe this decision is good news for the children and the mothers impacted, as their children born overseas would be granted automatic citizenship.
“I would like to express my gratitude and my solid support for the decision made by the Cabinet,” she said in a statement today.
Juwairiya, who is also the Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Wanita deputy chief , also added that the children who were previously denied citizenship should be immediately assisted in obtaining their citizenship under Article 15 (A) of the Federal Constitution, which provides a special power for the Federal government to register children under 18 years of age as citizens.
Earlier, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said in a joint statement that the Cabinet had agreed to the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution to allow children born abroad to Malaysian mothers married to foreigners to obtain Malaysian citizenship.
They said the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2023 on this matter was expected to be tabled in the current Parliament sitting as it had met the necessary legal requirements.
They said the amendments would involve Section 1(1)(d) and Section 1(1)(e) of Part I, Schedule Two and Section 1(b) and Section 1 (c) of Part II of the same schedule.
The proposed amendments aim to resolve the long-standing citizenship issue faced by children born abroad to Malaysian mothers and non-Malaysian fathers, allowing them to become Malaysian citizens by operation of law, which means automatically rather than having to apply personally.
