LAWYERS for Liberty (LFL) has condemned the recent statement by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on the rights to obtain Malaysian citizenship.

LFL director Zaid Malek disagreed with Saifuddin’s statement claiming that the power to grant citizenship is the sole and exclusive right of the federal government. 

He said the home minister must not usurp the citizenship rights of Malaysians under the Federal Constitution. 

“This (power to citizenship exclusive rights to Putrajaya) is patently false, and a threat to the citizenship rights of Malaysians established since Merdeka. 

“It is nothing short of an attempt to usurp the rights guaranteed to Malaysians under the Federal Constitution. Article 14 confers citizenship as of right if one falls within the criteria listed under Parts I and II of the Second Schedule. 

“There is no room for interference or obstruction by the federal government should one fall within the criteria listed,” the lawyer said in a statement today. 

On Sunday, Saifuddin said a total of 9,539 citizenship applications are being considered by the government for approval as of last month.

He said the government, through the Home Ministry, would always consider every citizenship application fairly.

He said the granting of Malaysian citizenship was the exclusive right of the federal government and it cannot be given arbitrarily.

Zaid said Saifuddin’s unlawful stand is the root cause of the obstinate refusal by the National Registration Department (NRD) to comply with the law in cases of stateless Malaysians born in this country. 

“There are tens of thousands of cases where those who are citizens as of right under the Constitution are denied citizenship despite falling squarely within the criteria listed under Parts I and II of the Second Schedule of the constitution. 

“Meanwhile, the home minister has routinely ignored the decisions of the courts, such as the Federal Court decision in the case of ‘CCH & Anor v Pendaftar Besar Bagi Kelahiran dan Kematian (2022)’, which recognised the rights of foundlings to citizenship. This has led to these thousands being left in the wretched state of being stateless,” he said.  

Although the NRD’s action in refusing to comply with citizenship laws under the constitution is a longstanding issue even before the current government was formed, Zaid said the Pakatan Harapan-led government is now making matters worse by proposing amendments to citizenship laws under the constitution in an attempt to restrict the citizenship qualifications.  

He said these amendments will remove key protections under Parts II and III of the Federal Constitution, which would dash any hope of those who are currently stateless in getting their citizenship recognised, as well as creating a new generation of stateless individuals. 

Those who by right would have been Malaysians will be deprived of their citizenship should these amendments come to pass, Zaid added.  

Despite massive outcry against the proposed amendments, the government has remained silent and the minister has confirmed they are still moving ahead with the proposal by tabling it to the rulers.  

“There has been no reasonable response by the ministry on the plight of the stateless should the amendment come to pass.

“Those who are stateless are not so by choice and are victims of circumstances.  

“The stateless are deprived of basic rights to healthcare, education and livelihood. Many are stateless in the first place due to the gross administrative failures by the NRD and the Home Ministry. 

“Instead of addressing this, they are now exacerbating the problem with these amendments. This is nothing short of cruel and inhumane. The promises of reform ring hollow when those in need of help are ignored,” he said. – October 4, 2023.