LARUT, Jan 22 – The government has no problem to issue citizenship certificate to applicants if they can produce the valid marriage document, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
He said this was because the issuance of citizenship certificate has to be done in accordance with the existing laws in the country.
“Among the conditions set is to have a valid marriage certificate and the marriage has to be registered in the country,” he told a press conference after attending a ‘Program Kenduri Kampung’ in Sungai Bayor near Selama today.
Hamzah said this in response to a report which quoted him as saying that a thorough investigation would be carried out to determine the citizenship status of Rohana Abdullah, who was abandoned as a two-month-old baby at a kindergarten 22 years ago after her Indonesian mother returned to her country.
The girl was reportedly forced to drop out of school because she did not have identification documents.
He advised all parties to abide by the rules and conditions set in obtaining citizenship status such as registering the marriage before problems arise involving their children later.
“I have reminded numerous times that in a marriage, even if there is a marriage certificate, but if it is not registered in the country, there will be problems for the children that they will be categorised as a child conceived out of wedlock or a child without status,” he said. — Bernama
