KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar today unanimously agreed to condemn the government's proposed regressive amendments to citizenship laws.
The decision was unanimously made during its 78th annual general meeting (AGM).
Newly-elected Malaysian Bar president Mohamed Ezri Abdul Wahab said the proposed amendments would constitute an alarming erosion of rights and pose an imminent threat to an already vulnerable segment of the society- stateless persons.
Its newly-elected vice-president B. Anand Raj said the Bar Council would consider participating in court proceedings with a view of eliminating Malaysia's shameful legacy of stateless persons.
"There are numerous cases in court and we will see which are the ones that we need to get involved with."
Asked whether the Bar would file a court challenge, following the motion passed, whether after the amendments were tabled or after it was voted on, Anand replied:
"The motion speaks for itself. We always, after the AGM, send the resolution to the government.
"The court challenge, if required, will come later."
Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the cabinet had given the green light for the proposed amendments to the constitution over citizenship to be tabled in Dewan Rakyat.
The proposed amendments continue to draw flak from various quarters and could jeopardise the future of stateless children and generations to come.
Asked if the Bar had presented its views or held engagements with the government, Anand said: "We are constantly providing comments to the government and there have been numerous cases taken up, not only by us but also members of the bar, on behalf of their clients.
"(And) we have been involved in some of these cases for watching brief and amicus curiae.
"We will continue to do that in addition to crystallising this motion which has been passed."
In the motion, the Malaysian Bar also demanded the government to establish an independent Ombudsperson Office to investigate any children who are stateless and ensure that they do not remain stateless, fast-track citizenship applications to not more than nine months, as well as to increase transparency surrounding the path to citizenship.