KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has received 688 citizenship applications for overseas-born children of Malaysian women, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said however, he believed more had yet to submit their application for citizenship.
"These (applications) are made under Article 15(2) (of the Federal Constitution) for overseas-born children's citizenship applications.
"In the 1950s, when the Federal Constitution was written, we did not imagine that women would go overseas, find their spouses, or study and build a career overseas," he said in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (Perikatan Nasional-Tumpat).
She had asked the minister to state how many applications the Home Ministry had received from Malaysian mothers to apply for citizenship for their overseas-born children.
Saifuddin said the decision to amend the Federal Constitution to allow granting citizenship to overseas-born children of Malaysian women was made on Feb 17.
The cabinet committee, he said, had conducted internal discussions on the matter and expected it would take six months before the amendments could be tabled in parliament.
"So, I think (the amendments) can be tabled in September.
"The technical committee will hand it over to the cabinet committee, before it is presented to the cabinet. Then we will present it to the Conference of Rulers because this involves amendments to the Federal Constitution.
"The Home Ministry is also hoping to discuss this matter with all members of Parliament and we will also hold engagement sessions with all relevant stakeholders.
"I am optimistic that we can finalise this according to schedule," he added.
On Feb 17, it was reported that the cabinet had given the greenlight to amend the Federal Constitution, allowing children born to Malaysian mothers overseas to obtain Malaysian citizenship.
According to the joint statement by Saifuddin and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the proposed revision to the Federal Constitution seeks to replace the phrase "whose father" in Part I and Part II of the Second schedule with the phrase "at least one of the parents."
In August 2022, the court of appeal ruled that children born abroad by Malaysian women were not eligible for automatic citizenship since the Federal Constitution only granted citizenship through fathers.
The appellate court in a 2-1 ruling favouring the government, stated that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers could be denied citizenship since the word "father" in Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution, and its related clauses in the Second Schedule, is "clear and unambiguous" and cannot be perceived to include mothers.
The ruling overturned a September 2021 decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the government must grant citizenship to children born outside of Malaysia to Malaysian mothers as the word "father" in the Second Schedule of the constitution should be read to include mothers and that their children are entitled to citizenship by operation of the law.
The decision was made by Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir, in the case brought by Malaysian mothers whose children were born overseas and were unable to get citizenship here.