KUALA LUMPUR – Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has urged Putrajaya to drop its appeal against a landmark high court ruling allowing children born to Malaysian mothers overseas to receive automatic citizenship.
Sultan Ibrahim said the right of citizenship must be awarded to all children born to Malaysians abroad.
The monarch added that it does not feel right that Malaysian mothers and fathers are viewed differently in the eyes of the law concerning their child’s citizenship.
“Are Malaysian mothers less Malaysian than Malaysian fathers?” Sultan Ibrahim said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
Furthermore, given the brain drain plaguing the nation, Sultan Ibrahim said the government should stop rejecting individuals deserving of citizenship rights.
In the spirit of the Malaysian Family concept espoused by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, the Johor monarch said, the attorney-general should withdraw the appeal immediately.
“The sanctity of the court must be upheld. Why discriminate against Malaysian mothers with overseas-born children?
“This is a basic right of every child, irrespective of whether the Malaysian parent is the father or mother,” Sultan Ibrahim said.
On September 9, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Malaysian mothers have the right to confer citizenship upon children born overseas on an equal basis with Malaysian men.
However, on September 13, the attorney-general filed a notice of appeal against the high court ruling. – The Vibes, September 18, 2021
