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PETALING JAYA: A law that prevents Malaysian mothers from conferring their nationality on their children is archaic and discriminatory because all children, whose parents are Malaysian, should obtain citizenship, says Hannah Yeoh.
The Segambut deputy, who was Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, said the existing policy reduces the option for Malaysian women seeking divorce, protection or relief because it assumes the presence of the father figure in an environment happy family member.
“The reality is not like that for many Malaysian women.
“Those who have to leave their union often find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place because their children do not have citizenship in their homeland,” he said in a statement on Friday (December 4).
Yeoh said that she and former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had written to the Interior Minister when they were both in office to have the law amended.
However, there were no positive comments from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who had served as Interior Minister during Pakatan Harapan’s 22-month administration.
“This conservative policy hurts the children of Malaysian women. They must be legitimately Malaysian,” he said.
Yeoh said that Malaysian women should be treated the same as their male counterparts, as they contribute equally to the economic and social development of the country.
He said citizenship should be granted to all children whose parents or adoptive parents are Malaysian, regardless of the father’s marital status and the sex of the Malaysian father or the child’s place of birth, including foundlings who have been abandoned by their parents. biological.
Yeoh added that the Home Office should speed up reform in this area, especially in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic because Malaysian mothers abroad are unable to return to Malaysia to give birth due to border closures.
“Many apparent options for travel in terms of where to give birth were not options to start with due to the closure of our borders.
“What poses a major threat to national security is corruption within its law enforcement system, as seen in the recent arrests of immigration and police officers. Innocent children cannot and will not be a danger to our nation. “Yeoh said.
Yeoh was responding to Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said, who cited national security as the reason for preventing Malaysian women married to foreign spouses from conferring nationality on a foreign-born child.
He explained that this was done to avoid the problem of dual citizenship, since children born abroad would follow their father’s nationality.
“Therefore, we must be diligent to prevent the child from being granted dual citizenship.
“If the child has not yet obtained the father’s citizenship, an application (for Malay citizenship) can be made in accordance with Article 15 (2) of the Federal Constitution.
“This is a matter of national security and sovereignty that we must ensure,” he said on Wednesday (December 3).
Ismail, a Kuala Krau MP, was responding to a question posed by Sekijang MP Natrah Ismail.
The federal Constitution only guarantees citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian parents, but is silent on children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Bar Council expressed concern over Ismail’s comment saying that efforts should be increased to pass a constitutional amendment that includes the right of Malaysian mothers that would allow them to confer nationality on their children if they are born in the Foreign.
“In a democracy that is based on the rule of law, equal rights must be provided to both men and women to ensure that justice is preserved,” said its President Salim Bashir.
He said that there were many situations where Malaysian mothers with children of foreign spouses wanted to return to Malaysia after divorce or seek employment.
However, these women often face difficulties in securing citizenship for their children as a result of existing laws and policies.
Salim added that the rule of law and the principles of gender equality require an amendment to the Federal Constitution and other relevant laws to safeguard the rights of mothers to be able to confer citizenship on their children born abroad to foreign spouses.
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