Government guarantees citizenship for foundlings

KUALA LUMPUR - The government guarantees that the citizenship rights of foundlings and children will be protected.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said based on national legislation, the principle of citizenship involved children born from a valid and registered marriage and the mother or father were citizens.

Therefore, he said abandoned children were categorised based on two criteria namely the place of discovery, referring to where they were found and whether the baby was born to a resident mother.

"If we make that assumption, then the baby can become a citizen by operation of law. Children's rights must be guaranteed (and) protected, stop the term "denied the right to obtain citizenship."

"Now if they don't get (citizenship) through Section 19B (Part III of the Second Schedule) (Constitution), we will process under 15A, they can still get citizenship.

"As long as the request has been submitted and the application is completed, it will be processed. Even if it isn't approved automatically, it will still undergo review and a decision will be made under item 15A," he said during today's Dewan Rakyat session, today.

He said this in response to an additional question from Mohamad Shafizan Kepli (GPS-Batang Lupar) regarding the mechanism to enable babies or abandoned children to be granted citizenship automatically.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the government was actively engaging in sessions to determine the most effective approach involving citizenship.

"When the time comes, we will all participate in the issue involving citizenship," he said.