MALAYSIAN mothers with foreign husbands can automatically confer citizenship on their children born overseas, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled today.

The judgement, by judge Akhtar Tahir, is based on constitutional provisions on citizenship rights which are to be read together with provisions against gender discrimination, said the group Association of Family Support and Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers) in a statement about the decision today.

On this basis, the judge decided that the word ‘father’ must be read to include mothers and that their children are entitled to citizenship by operation of law, the group which fights for equal citizenship rights for overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers.

Akhtar, in online proceedings today, also said the courts are empowered to interpret the law to uphold the spirit of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and to ensure justice.

The case does not seek to change policy, he added, but to apply existing law in a way that will find remedy for the grievance of the plaintiffs.

The legal challenge against the practice of only allowing Malaysian men to automatically confer citizenship on their children born abroad was filed by six Malaysian mothers as well as Family Frontiers in December last year.

Malaysian mothers married to foreign men are required to apply for Malaysian citizenship for their overseas-born children. Besides taking years for processing, approval is not guaranteed as the government has the right to reject such applications. – September 9, 2021.