[UPDATED] You can hold me accountable: Saifuddin on overdue children’s citizenship application

KUALA LUMPUR – After much controversy, the constitutional amendments on citizenship were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today. However, it was not debated and no votes were taken due to lack of time.

Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul called the current sitting to a close after Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail tabled the bill for a second reading and presented its contents to MPs.

The next Dewan Rakyat sitting will begin in the last week of June for a period of four weeks. According to a spokesman from Johari’s office, the bill will be re-tabled in the next session.

The bill tabled for second reading today did not include the initially proposed controversial elements that would have denied foundlings automatic citizenship.

The bill also proposed amending sections on citizenship for children where only “father” is mentioned, to “mother or father” – as demanded by civil society and Malaysian mothers married to foreign husbands whose children are born overseas.

In his speech, Saifuddin reiterated his earlier commitment to resolve the 14,000 outstanding citizenship applications for children under Article 15A, by December 31 this year.

Article 15A grants the Home Minister special powers to register children as citizens.

“I give my commitment to settle all outstanding applications under 15A. The balance is 14,000 which I commit to the MPs here – and you can hold me accountable to it – that by December 31 this year, we will make a decision on all these 14,000,” he said to thumps of approval by other lawmakers.

Despite the government having dropped the contentious proposed amendments from the bill, it is still facing fresh controversy for not being retroactive for overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers.

The proposed changes to change “father” only to “mother or father” will only give automatic citizenship to overseas-born children after the amendments come into force.

Saifuddin did not address concerns about this today.

He did touch on other concerns, namely the proposal to remove automatic citizenship for anyone born in Malaysia to a parent who is “permanently resident” which is currently allowed under Section 1(a), Part II of the constitution’s Second Schedule.

The words “permanently resident” are to be replaced with “a citizen” – a move Orang Asli and indigenous groups in Sarawak have said will impact natives who are married to migrant workers as their children will have to apply for citizenship by registration instead. 

Saifuddin said children of these couples would not be deemed stateless as they would be children of permanent residents who are citizens of other countries. 

On other proposed constitutional changes, he said the age for citizenship by registration for children would be lowered from 21 to 18, to be in line with the voting age in Malaysia and with the Age of Majority Act 1971. 

A proposed additional Section 3 to Part II of the Second Schedule will state that a child who is a Malaysian citizen but born overseas must take an oath of citizenship within 48 months after turning 18, or cease being a citizen. 

Section 19B in Part III of the Second Schedule on foundlings, meanwhile, while not stripping automatic citizenship for abandoned babies, replaces “born there of a mother who is permanently a resident there” with “born there of a mother who is a citizen”. 

Saifuddin today said after consulting various stakeholders, the government had brought the proposed amendments to the Conference of Rulers who gave their consent but also asked that the granting of citizenship be accompanied by tighter controls. 

Saifuddin’s proposal for the Dewan Rakyat to pass the amendments was seconded by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (Pengerang-BN). 

As Speaker Johari closed the sitting, shouts of “Coward!” could be heard from opposition lawmaker Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau-PN) over the lack of debate on the bill. – March 27, 2024