KUALA LUMPUR: The government will soon begin the process to amend the Federal Constitution to allow Malaysian women the right to grant citizenship to their children, even if these are born overseas to foreign fathers.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the amendment would be to Part II of the Second Schedule of the Constitution.
In a Twitter posting after today's cabinet meeting, she said she and Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail would put forward a memorandum on the amendment to the cabinet as soon as possible.
"InsyaAllah, saifuddin Nasution and I will, as soon as possible, submit a joint memorandum to the cabinet to propose amendments to Part II, Second Schedule of the Federal Cabinet concerning the issue of citizenship," she wrote.
Azalina's press secretary, Samantha Chong, confirmed that the amendments will be in regard to the rights of Malaysian women to grant citizenship to their children born overseas to foreign fathers.
The issue came prominently to light after six women whose children born under such circumstances, helped by rights organisation Family Frontiers, were aided in filing legal action on Dec 18, 2020, seeking a declaration that their children could be declared Malaysian citizenships.
On Sept 9 the following year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in their favour, saying the word "father" in the Federal Constitution should be read as representative of both parents considering that Article 8(2) states that there should be no discrimination, including based on gender, against any Malaysian citizen.
However, the Attorney-General's Chambers appealed the decision and on Aug 5 last year, the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, overturned the High Court ruling.
The mothers and Family Frontiers then sought leave from the Federal Court to appeal the decision and on Dec 14, the apex court allowed the appeal to proceed.