Advocates give simple solution to detrimental amendments: “Decouple it”

PETALING JAYA - Advocates are calling the government to separate amendments for Malaysia’s citizenship laws following regressive moves and outcomes to foundlings - infant or small child found abandoned without a known parent or guardian.

Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek said the federal government’s latest move to amend citizenship laws follows a prolonged gender equality advocacy to allow Malaysian women the right to confer citizenship to their overseas-born children - a right already granted to Malaysian fathers.

This decision, he said, should be praised by unfortunately comes with a catch. The proposed changes has been coupled with "all the other ammendments" that eliminates the life of stateless children or individuals to get their citizenship recognised.

“They put it all together, all under one bin,” he said.

Zaid said the process was ongoing and it will be tabled in Parliament this month when the Dewan Rakyat session begins.

“The fact of the matter is that the proposed amendments will still be tabled and it will impact all the citizens here in Malaysia, so if you live here we are urging to you to get all your MPs, the ministers and whoever you know who has power to make these amendments comes to a bust - decouple it," he said.

Zaid stated that the solution for stateless children comes under the constitution itself as there were certain provisions regarding foundlings that could be fully utilised.

"The law at early stance is adequate enough to resolve the majority of statelessness problem exist in Malaysia but if the amendments take place then we may a bigger problem in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, Family Frontiers President Suri Kempe, who has been the face of the "Malaysian women married to non-Malaysian men seeking citizenship rights for their children born overseas" movement, also voiced out for the decoupling of the laws.

She said those who have been fighting for the rights of Malaysian women and mothers will not stand by and allow the set of laws involving children's citizenship rights be approved despite their long fight to obtained their rights.

"Not in the name of the children," she said in regards to them getting their rights, adding that there was no basis for the government to "give the rights of the mothers and takeaway away the rights of children in return."

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