KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will present the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution to the Conference of Malay Rulers soon, in a bid to solve the citizenship issue plaguing the overseas-born children of Malaysian women with foreign spouses.
Doing so will enable Malaysian mothers to be granted equal rights under the Federal Constitution.
“I will seek an audience (with the Rulers) and present the matter within this couple of days.
“The law stated that citizenship is given to children whose father is a citizen, it does not include the mother. So, we want both parents to be included in the Constitution…it is not fair to have just the father (as stated in the Constitution) but not the mother. That is all the matter to be presented,” he told reporters after opening the International Malaysian Law Conference (IMLC) 2023, earlier today.
Anwar said the proposed constitutional amendment is expected to be tabled in Parliament on September.
Earlier in his speech, the Prime Minister said concerning the plight of stateless persons, the Home Ministry has received numerous citizenship requests under Article 15(A) of the Federal Constitution, which underscores the urgent need for action.
Several critical issues contribute to the challenges faced by stateless persons in Malaysia.
“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’,” he said.
— Bernama
