KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Negara will debate a motion related to the citizenship of children born abroad to Malaysian mothers this afternoon after getting the nod of its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Mohamad.
Ali said the motion moved by Senator Datuk Seri Zurainah Musa will be debated in accordance with Standing Order 17 (3) as it has met three conditions, namely that it is of a specific nature, is of public interest, and needs to be expedited.
“I allow the proposing side to debate for 30 minutes and after that the government will answer for 30 minutes, subject to the requests and statements from the honourable members who may participate in the debate according to the time given this afternoon,” he said after the question-and-answer session in the upper House today.
Earlier, Zurainah said when tabling the motion that it was brought up following the ruling by the Court of Appeal on August 5 on the issue of children born abroad to Malaysian mothers not being automatically granted Malaysian citizenship, unlike for men.
She said the Court of Appeal’s decision placed the responsibility on Parliament to amend the constitution for the sake of justice for the affected families, but Parliament depended on the relevant ministry to bring about the amendment. – Bernama, August 11, 2022
