PM says proposed citizenship amendments, including recognising mother’s right, for Sept tabling in Parliament
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The government will table the constitutional amendments to citizenship provisions in September when the Dewan Rakyat sits again, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
But first, the proposals will be presented to the Conference of Rulers this month for their consent, he added.
“As for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, efforts are already underway to resolve the issue of citizenship for them.
“We will be tabling amendments to the Federal Constitution to replace the words ‘whose father’ in Part I and Part II of the Second Schedule with the words ‘at least one of the parents’.
“Assuming that is done this month, we will table the Bill in the next Parliamentary session in September,” he said in his speech at the International Malaysia Law Conference 2023 here.
The amendments show the government’s commitment to reduce red tape for Malaysian mothers to obtain Malaysian citizenship for any child born overseas.
The proposed amendments would also result in Malaysian mothers being able to enjoy the same rights — as guaranteed under Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution which disallows gender discrimination — to pass on their citizenship to their children born abroad. At the moment, only Malaysian fathers are allowed to pass on their citizenship to their overseas-born children/
In her speech, Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah urged Anwar to expedite the tabling of the proposed constitutional reforms to keep up with the times.
“Such amendments should be without qualifications or conditions attached.
“All other problematic proposed amendments by the Home Ministry should be taken out and left for further discussion at a later date.
“This is a simple and straightforward amendment – it should not be railroaded and delayed due to other issues newly introduced causing unnecessary complications,” she said.
According to the Parliament website, the next Dewan Rakyat session is scheduled for October 9 until November 30 for 32 days.
