Suri Kempe expresses joy over Cabinet decision to amend Constitution on citizenship

SHAH ALAM - Activist Suri Kempe expressed contentment over the latest decision by the Cabinet, which agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to enable children born abroad to Malaysian mothers to gain automatic Malaysian citizenship.

In a Facebook post, Suri said this acknowledgement showed that the government recognises the struggles of Malaysian women and their overseas-born children and that this discrimination must be rectified.

"Wow! What a thing to wake up to..having said that, I don’t think it’ll be real to me until that 2/3 majority vote in Parliament conclusively passes the amendment.

"I am encouraged by the Cabinet’s decision. It is an acknowledgement that the government recognises the struggles of Malaysian women and their overseas-born children and that this discrimination must be rectified as quickly as possible," she added.

Earlier today, the announcement was made in a joint statement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, who said that the amendment is expected to be tabled in the current Dewan Rakyat sitting.

They said that the Cabinet had agreed yesterday in its meeting to the proposal to amend the Federal Constitution, in particular Section 1(1)(d) and Section 1(1)(e) of Part I in the Second Schedule and Section 1(b) and Section 1(c) in Part II of the same schedule.

"We are now waiting with bated breath for the amendments to be tabled in Parliament; only once the amendment passes can we breathe out in relief," she added.

Only after this, Suri said that mothers will be able to submit their children’s documents to the Registration Department Malaysia to receive their citizenship certificates.

"There is still quite a long way to go, but we’re certainly on the right track," she said.