National Registration Department Director-General Azizan Ayob was quoted in The Star (4 Feb 2000) as saying that only Malaysian men were entitled to register their overseas born children as citizens. Aliran would like to point out the discrimination against women in the law pertaining to citizenship.

The current law on citizenship states that a Malaysian woman married to a foreigner can only confer her Malaysian nationality on her child if the child is born in Malaysia (Federal Constitution Part III). A Malaysian man married to a foreigner, however, can confer his Malaysian nationality on his child regardless of where his child is born (i.e. within or outside of Malaysia).

This situation is most unfair, unnecessary and causes many problems for Malaysian women married to foreigners, living abroad.

Malaysia is a signatory (albeit with reservations) to the United Nations Convention on The Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), having ratified it in 1995. The Malaysian Government is legally bound to put the provisions of the CEDAW Convention in place. It is unclear why the current laws on citizenship that discriminate against women continue to exist despite calls for change from various women’s organisations.

The Guardianship of Infants Act 1956 has been amended to enable mothers to have joint guardianship with their husbands of their children. Since a Malaysian mother is now recognised as the legal guardian of her child, then surely it must be possible for a Malaysian mother to also confer her nationality on her child.