Abandon regressive citizenship amendments – 60 NGOs

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

These amendments aim to legitimise the ministry’s unconstitutional actions, which do not have the mandate of the people.

Further, these regressive amendments are being made without engaging with and seeking input from organisations working on the ground with affected 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 Shamsul Anuar Nasarah’s comment that the government’s proposal to abrogate Sections 1(e) and 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 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 that civil society organisations 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 Ismail have been ignored.

This raises concerns about the preparedness and assessment by the MoHA 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 avenue to pursue their claims for citizenship through judicial or administrative means.

During the briefing, civil society groups had also pointed out that the MoHA’s understanding of the laws of the countries mentioned in the comparative study is grossly erroneous, as all the mentioned countries (ie the UK, 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 multi-generational instability.

Endorsed by:

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, Sarawa
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. National 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. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram)
53. Sustainable Development Network Malaysia (Susden Malaysia)
54. The Rise Malaysia
55. Guru
56. Terabai Kenyalang Heritage Association of Sarawak (TKHAS)
57. Undi Sabah
58. Vanguards4Change
59. Voice of Children (VoC)
60. Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK)

Endorsed by 46 individuals, activists and affected Malaysian parents: 

1. Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS, consultant paediatrician
2. Prof Dato Noor Aziah, Suhakam commissioner
3. Ranee Sreedharan, lawyer for stateless person
4. Azira Aziz, lawyer from Child Protection group
5. Wong Kueng Hui, former stateless 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 stateless child
13. Tan Hooi Lim, father of stateless child
14. Heah Tze Ling, father of stateless child
15. Chandra Morgan 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 child
21. Nadesh Zakuan 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, aged 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 and JKM
37. Mustafa UPC Mohamed, father of adopted stateless child via JKM
38. Justine Morais, affected parent
39. Anita Premila Paul, mother of former stateless child
40. Victor Francis, biological father to stateless child
41. Tan Han Fang, guardian of stateless child
42. Sandra Stephanie Theraviam, mother of former 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

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

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