DECEMBER 16 — The Malaysian Citizenship Rights Alliance (MCRA), The Child Rights protection group and Impacted Malaysian parents urges Prime Minister Anwar’s Madani government to promptly abandon the proposed regressive citizenship amendments which will further impact categories of children who are constitutionally Malaysian and who have been arbitrarily and wilfully denied citizenship by the Home Ministry.

These amendments aim to legitimise the Home Ministry’s unconstitutional actions which do not have the mandate of the rakyat.

Further, these regressive amendments are being made without engaging with and seeking input from organisations working on the ground with impacted individuals and communities; and are being proposed without understanding the issues or collecting relevant information and data.

Changing citizenship laws, which grant children access to other fundamental constitutional and human rights, based on whimsical or discriminatory motives will lead to unjust consequences and place more innocent children at risk of harm and violation.

Any amendments to the criteria for acquiring citizenship should only be done after thorough data gathering, research, examination of comparative laws and exploring alternative solutions to existing issues.

It is deeply worrying that this Madani government is approaching such crucial and fundamental legislation in an arbitrary, cavalier and negligent manner with complete disregard for the categories of children who will suffer as a consequence of these draconian amendments.

We are alarmed at Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah’s comment that the government's proposal to abrogate section 1(e) and section 2(3) in Part II of the Second Schedule “was aimed at preventing the misuse of obtaining citizenship”, such as by ‘illegitimate’ children who claim that they do not have any citizenship at birth.

This statement was made despite acknowledging that these sections “fundamentally protect any person from becoming stateless”.

The deputy minister’s lack of awareness and knowledge of these issues is both astounding and embarrassing, and indicative of the lack of informed decision-making that is taking place about this critical constitutional issue.

In all the cases filed before the Malaysian court under section 1(e), the affected children have been able to prove that they are not citizens of any other country, whilst the government has failed to prove otherwise, despite having access to inter-governmental (G2G) communication and exchange of data and information.

To abrogate the fundamental rights of vulnerable children because the government has been derelict in its responsibilities is cruel and inhumane.

We find the deputy minister’s rationale wholly unacceptable and particularly discriminatory against children born out of wedlock, and a clear abrogation of their responsibility and obligation to act in the best interest of children, and to ensure their protection and their right to life with dignity.

We further make reference to the response given by the deputy home minister of that CSOs and several other stakeholders were merely given a briefing on the proposed amendments in June.

We remind the Deputy Minister that we were left with many unanswered questions and any requests for data or information in support of amendments have not yet been provided. In addition, repeated requests to meet with the home minister, Saifuddin Nasution, have been ignored.

This raises concerns about the preparedness and assessment by Home Ministry on the potential impact and harm these amendments may cause, particularly by leaving children who are Malaysian, and not citizens of any other country, without any avenues to pursue their claims for citizenship through judicial or administrative means.

During the briefing, CSOs had also pointed out that the Home Ministry's understanding of the laws of the countries mentioned in the comparative study is grossly erroneous, as all the mentioned countries (i.e. United Kingdom, Singapore and Japan) do not discriminate against children born out of wedlock to their citizens. These countries also provide automatic citizenship for foundling children.

Citizenship laws play a crucial role in defining the legal status and rights of individuals within a nation, and their contributions towards development.

Any changes to these laws should be made with careful consideration, reflecting a commitment to principles of justice, equality, and the protection of individual human and other rights.

Addressing statelessness is not only a matter of human rights but also crucial for sustainable development.

Efforts to prevent and reduce statelessness should involve legal reforms to prevent statelessness, identify and resolve existing situations of statelessness to ensure that all individuals can fully participate in the social, economic, and political aspects of their communities. Being ignorant about the stateless population among Malaysian children, can only lead to multigenerational instability.

Citizenship laws play a crucial role in defining the legal status and rights of individuals within a nation, and their contributions towards development. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Citizenship laws play a crucial role in defining the legal status and rights of individuals within a nation, and their contributions towards development. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

Endorsed by 60 Organisations, dated 16 December 2023:

1. Advocates for Non-Discrimination and Access to Knowledge (ANAK), Sabah

2. ALIRAN

3. Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers)

4. Association of Toy Libraries Msia

5. Association of Women Lawyers (AWL)

6. Bait Al Amanah (BAA)

7. Borneo Komrad

8. Buku Jalanan Chow Kit

9. Cahaya Society

10. Centre for Independent Journalism

11. Childline Foundation

12. Community Transformation Initiative Bhd

13. CRIB Foundation

14. Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA), Malaysia

15. ENGENDER

16. ERA Consumer Malaysia

17. ETANIA Schools Sabah

18. Fomca

19. Gerak (Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia)

20. HaKita

21. HumanKind PLT

22. Iskul Sama diLaut Omadal

23. Johor Women's League (JEWEL)

24. Kemban Kolektif

25. Koalisi Buruh Migran Berdaulat (KBMB)

26. Lawyer Kamek, Sarawak

27. Legal Unit, Agamam Ani Msia

28. Malaysia Stateless Alliance (MSA)

29. Malaysian Association of Social Workers

30. Malaysian Collaborative Practice Group

31. Malaysian Council for Child Welfare

32. Nat Early Childhood Intervention Council

33. Our Journey

34. Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS Trust)

35. Persatuan Kebajikan Dan Kepenggunaan Wanita

36. Persatuan Kebangsaan Hak Asasi Manusia (HAKAM)

37. Persatuan Pengasuhan dan Perkembangan Awal Kanak-kanak Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM)

38. Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia (PROHAM)

39. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor

40. Pertubuhan Kebajikan pp th. Vivekananda Rembau NS

41. PERTUBUHAN MASYARAKAT RAHMAH, SOSIAL & LESTARI KUALA LUMPUR DAN SELANGOR (RSL)

42. Play Unltd PLT

43. Protect and Save the Children

44. Puak Payong

45. PurpleLily Social Association Kuching

46. Rahman Student League

47. Sabah Aids Support Services Association (KASIH)

48. Sarawak Women for Women Society

49. Sisters in Islam

50. Stateless Malaysians (Stateless.my)

51. Stateless Malaysians Citizenship Movement (SMCM)

52. Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia)

53. Sustainable Development Network Malaysia (SUSDEN Malaysia)

54. The Rise Malaysia

55. Tiada.Guru

56. TKHAS (Terabai Kenyalang Heritage Association of Sarawak

57. Undi Sabah

58. Vanguards4Change

59. Voice of Children (VOC)

60. Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK)

Endorsed by 46 Individuals/activist and impacted Malaysian parents, dated December 16, 2023:

1. Datuk Dr Amar-Singh HSS, Consultant Paediatrician

2. Datuk Noor Aziah , Commissioner of Suhakam

3. Ranee Sreedharan (Advocate and solicitor for stateless persons)

4. Azira Aziz, Lawyer (from Child Protection group)

5. Wong Kueng Hui (Former statelesss individual & activist)

6. Fan Siew Lee (mother of stateless child)

7. Tan Kim Hwa (mother of stateless child)

8. Vanessa ( stateless )

9. Nurul Akashah ( Stateless )

10. Lee Cheah Cherng (father of stateless child

11. Wilfred Fernandez (father of stateless child)

12. Lee Seng Loong - father of a stateless child

13. Tan Hooi Lim - father of a stateless child

14. Heah Tze Ling - father of a stateless child

15. Chandra Morgan A/L Velutham @ Velautham (father of stateless child)

16. Sharene Kam Guat Mei (mother of stateless child)

17. Lee Su Fon (father of stateless Child)

18. Lee Chi Kah (father of stateless child)

19. Sandra Lee (guardian of former Stateless child).

20. Teon Tiong Ann (father of stateless childs)

21. Nadesh Zakuan b. Abd Rahman (father of stateless child)

22. Lim Wee Seong (father of former stateless child)

23. Rodney Raj Edward (Parents of non Malaysian children)

24. Philip Choong Kim Hoong(stateless age 41)

25. Heng Kay Seng (member of MSA)

26. Mahendran Raj ( Husband and father to stateless)

27. Janice Tan (stateless)

28. Muhammad Irfan tiong(father of stateless)

29. Jenness Ong Jia Xun (stateless)

30. Hor Chung Hung “Pass away”(father of stateless- mother Elizabeth)

31. Faridah Abdullah-stateless individual

32. Timothy Tean Chong Chern (father of stateless child)

33. Santhi (mother of stateless child)

34. Chloe Ooi Eng Fong (mother of adopted stateless child)

35. Farizul Abdullah - stateless individual

36. Aaliyah Marcia Abdullah - Mother of adopted stateless child via Orphancare & JKM

37. Mustafa Bin UPC Mohamed - Father of adopted stateless child via JKM

38. Justine Morais, affected parent

39. Anita Premila Paul(mother of formerly stateless child)

40. Victor Francis(biological father to stateless child)

41. Tan Han Fang (guardian of stateless child)

42. Sandra Stephanie Theraviam (mother of formerly stateless child)

43. Lee Chee Siang - father of adopted child

44. Tan Jun Lok -stateless

45. Tiew Chai Kee-father of adopted child

46. Wong Yew Lee (former stateless individual)

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.