THE Dewan Rakyat has rejected 17 private members’ bills seeking constitutional amendments to allow children born overseas to Malaysian mothers to be recognised as Malaysian citizens, Azalina Othman Said said.

The Pengerang lawmaker said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun rejected the bills on grounds that provisions under Part III of the Federal Constitution cannot be passed without the consent of the Conference of Rulers.

“It is my sincere hope that the government of the day prioritises measures that can be taken to allow citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers as is their birthright.

“Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee for Women and Children Affairs and Social Development have expressed willingness to bring this matter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“We must act in the best interest of our children and the rights of Malaysian mothers, and we must act now,” she said in a statement today.

In her private bill, Azalina sought to amend article 14’s sections 1(b) and 1(c) of Part 2, Schedule 2 of the Federal Constitution, to include the word “or mother” to allow for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers to be recognised as Malaysian citizens.

Article 14(1)(b) states every person born on or after Malaysia Day, fulfilling any of the conditions in Part II of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution, are a citizen by operation of law while section 1 b) of Part II of the Second Schedule of Federal Constitution states every person born outside the Federation, whose father is at the time of the birth of a citizen, are citizens by operation of law.

“My reasons for doing so as a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee for Women and Children Affairs and Social Development was because it is outright discriminatory to women and morally untenable to leave thousands of children born to Malaysian mothers stateless, not knowing their fate,” said Azalina, who chairs the select committee.

Other parliamentarians who have also submitted private members’ bills for constitutional amendments to allow for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers were:

Alice Lau Kiong Yieng (Lanang), Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Pandan), Hannah Yeoh (Segambut), Nurul Izzah Anwar (Permatang Pauh), Fuziah Salleh (Kuantan), Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai), Hasanuddin Yunus (Hulu Langat) Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya), Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (Lumut),  M. Kula Segaran (Ipoh Barat), Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (Bandar Kuching), Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar), Tan Kok Wai (Cheras), Lim Guan Eng (Bagan), Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam) and Tan Yee Kew (Wangsa Maju).

Currently, Malaysia’s citizenship laws under the Federal Constitution only specify having a Malaysian “father” as the requirement for an overseas-born person to automatically qualify as a Malaysian citizen.

Based on this, the Malaysian government has continued to apply the policy of only allowing Malaysian fathers’ overseas-born children to automatically become Malaysians.

On August 5, the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 majority decision, had allowed the government’s appeal to overturn the High Court’s landmark ruling allowing children born overseas to Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses to get Malaysian citizenship.

On September 9 last year, the High Court ruled that Malaysian mothers’ overseas-born children are entitled to be Malaysian citizens under the law, and ordered authorities to issue citizenship documents to these overseas-born children.

The charge for citizenship recognition has been led by the group Family Frontiers and the group is currently planning to appeal Court of Appeal decision at the Federal Court. – October 5, 2022.