THE cabinet has agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to allow citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.

In a joint statement, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the amendment is expected to be tabled in the current parliament session.

“The proposed amendments to the Constitution pertain to changing the term ‘father’ in Parts I and II of the Second Schedule with the term ‘at least one of the parents’ to allow Malaysian mothers to get their parental rights according to the constitution,” the statement said.

A committee established under the Home Ministry will study other amendments related to citizenship and will present its findings to the cabinet.

“This is in line with the unity government’s commitment to recognise the equality of women and men, to eliminate discrimination against women in Malaysia, overcome the shortcomings of citizenship provisions that arise, resolve backlog cases of affected women who had applied for citizenship for their children and provide a clear interpretation to avoid different interpretations from the court,” said the statement.

“With the decision, children born abroad before or after Malaysia Day where at least one of their parents is a Malaysian citizen are now entitled to obtain citizenship as stipulated under Clause (1) Article 14 of the Federal Constitution.

Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur spokesman Bina Ramanand last month said the move was long overdue.

“It is time to end the struggles and discrimination faced by Malaysian mothers,” Bina told The Malaysian Insight. 

Azalina had announced previously that she and Saifuddin would table a joint ministerial memorandum to the cabinet to propose amending part II of the second schedule of the Federal Constitution, relating to the issue of citizenship. 

Part II of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution lays out the rules by which a person born after Malaysia Day can become a citizen of Malaysia. 

Last month, Saifuddin pledged to prioritise the issue of citizenship of children born overseas to Malaysian mothers. 

Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional promised in their election manifestoes to amend the constitution to give fathers and mothers the right to confer citizenship on their children. – February 18, 2023.