COMMENT | Citizenship law changes: Case of tail wagging the dog?

COMMENT | PSM is very disturbed that the Madani government is insisting on proceeding with the amendments to several articles on citizenship in the Federal Constitution.

While welcoming the amendment that confers equal rights to Malaysian women who deliver children overseas, we are quite dismayed that the government intends to;

- Drop “permanent resident” from Second Schedule, Part II, 1(a), thereby withdrawing the provision of citizenship by operation of law to children of parents with Red Identity Cards.

- Removing subsection 1(e) from Part II of the Second Schedule. This will seriously disadvantage abandoned babies who are currently citizens by operation of law.

- The proposed amendment to 19(b) of Part 3 of the Second Schedule has a similar effect of depriving foundlings (abandoned newborns) of the right to citizenship by “operation of law”.

- Reduction of the age of applicants from...