PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim will soon present to the Malay Rulers the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution to resolve the citizenship hurdles for children born overseas to Malaysian women with foreign spouses.

He said amendments would grant Malaysian women equal rights to confer citizenship to their children.

“I will seek an audience (with the rulers) and present the matter to them in a couple of days,” he said.

The constitution as it stands now only grants citizenship to children born of a Malaysian father.

“We want both parents to be included in the constitution…it’s not fair to have just the father but not the mother,” he said at the International Malaysian Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Anwar said the constitutional amendments are expected to be tabled in parliament in September.

He said the Home Ministry has received numerous citizenship requests under article 15(A) of the Federal Constitution, which underscores the urgent need for action.

“As for children who have already been born overseas to Malaysian mothers, efforts are underway to resolve the issue of citizenship for them. 

“We will be tabling amendments to the Federal Constitution to replace the words ‘father’ in parts I and II of the second schedule with the words ‘at least one of the parents’. – Bernama, July 11, 2023.