In Malaysia, government reiterates intention to amend constitution on child citizenship

The home ministry has reiterated its intention to propose a constitutional amendment to allow Malaysian mothers to confer citizenship on their children born overseas to foreign fathers. Currently, only Malaysian fathers have this right under the Federal Constitution, which has led to a number of court challenges. Recently, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that mothers are entitled to confer citizenship by operation of law in all processes, but the decision has since been appealed by the government. In a parliamentary written reply to Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said, the ministry said it still intends to get the proposal approved by the Conference of Rulers before the constitutional amendment is tabled. “The ministry intends to amend the constitution to allow the acquisition of Malaysian citizenship for individuals under 21 years of age born abroad to Malaysian mothers who are married to non-citizen fathers,” it said.
Read the full article here: Free Malaysia Today