KUALA LUMPUR – Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun will meet with the Conference of Rulers from November 23 to 24 to discuss constitutional amendments pertaining to citizenship.
During his Budget 2022 winding-up speech today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi (Santubong-GPS) explained that the constitutional amendments regarding citizenship would not only require two-thirds assent in Parliament but also a nod from the Conference of Rulers.
“Cabinet has met on September 24 regarding the constitutional amendments, and we agreed that the attorney-general will inform the Conference of Rulers concerning the status of an ongoing case in court regarding the matter,” Wan Junaidi said.
It is understood that he was referring to a case filed by local mothers married to overseas men seeking Malaysian citizenship for their children.
However, Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor) pointed out to Wan Junaidi that there are 2,352 applications for their children’s citizenship made by Malaysian mothers overseas, and only 21 were approved within the last three years.
The Bukit Gelugor MP then asked if the Dewan Rakyat could see the constitutional amendments tabled in Parliament early next year.
In response, Wan Junaidi merely promised that the government will find the necessary time to table the bill in Parliament next year, given the urgency of the matter.
On a similar note, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang) suggested that matters relating to constitutional amendments on citizenship be included in the memorandum of understanding between the government and the opposition.
“We as lawmakers provide the best forum to make these constitutional amendments.
“Although today, the court rejected the government’s stay of execution application, it all boils down to parliament.
“This is because the court’s interpretation (of the amendments) would depend on our arguments here in Parliament,” Azalina said.
Earlier today, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the government’s bid to stay the September 9 decision on granting Malaysian mothers equal rights to confer citizenship to their children born overseas.
However, the government still has a pending appeal filed on September 9 at the Court of Appeal against the original high court ruling.
Family Frontiers and six mothers married to foreign men filed an originating summons at the high court on December 18, naming the Malaysian government, the home minister and National Registration Department as defendants, with the hope of declaring legal provisions preventing automatic citizenship for their children as unconstitutional. – The Vibes, November 15, 2021
