KUALA LUMPUR – Ensuring citizenship rights is one of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) fresh promises in its 15th general election (GE15) manifesto, which appears to be filled with recycled pledges that echo those vowed during previous national polls.
The manifesto, which was launched earlier today by PH leaders, stated that the coalition will amend Article 15(2) and Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution to guarantee citizenship for children born to either a Malaysian mother or father.
“Simultaneously, (constitutional) amendments will also be made to provide automatic citizenship to adopted children,” the manifesto said.
Under the current laws, Malaysian fathers are automatically given the right to confer citizenship to their children born abroad by registering the child under Article 14(1)(b) of the constitution.
However, Malaysian women who give birth abroad must apply for Malaysian citizenship under Article 15(2).
The issue has been a fairly heated topic, with non-governmental organisation Family Frontiers and six Malaysian mothers filing for leave to appeal at the Federal Court against the Court of Appeal’s August 5 decision, which overturned the landmark high court judgment granting Malaysian women equal rights to confer citizenship to their overseas-born children.
Another of PH’s plans should it regain control of Putrajaya is to implement a system where the nomination of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) commissioner must be vetted by a bipartisan parliamentary select committee.
This, it said, will ensure the nomination of a truly neutral candidate who will not protect the interests of any specific party.
Earlier this year on January 22, MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki saw himself being the subject of a protest attended by nearly 350 youths and activists, following allegations of funds mismanagement and corruption.
Additionally, the coalition intends to separate the roles and responsibilities of the public prosecutor from the attorney-general (AG), with the former only deciding on matters relating to prosecution while the latter acts as the government’s legal advisor.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has been a staunch advocate of the move, stating that the separation of the roles will strengthen the rule of law.
It cited public unhappiness over the discharge not amounting to the acquittal of incumbent Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim on September 23 following a request by the deputy public prosecutor.
The coalition said this showed the necessity of having the prosecution office independent of the AG, who is a political appointee.
Besides introducing the Political Funding Act to curb the “widespread” practice of money politics and inhibit the misappropriation of funds exemplified by the 1Malaysia Development Bhd financial scandal, the manifesto also includes steps to address the climate crisis.
“(PH will) table the Climate Change Act which will set targets for carbon emissions and forest coverage by 2040,” the manifesto said.
It noted that attempts to kickstart the matter were ignited when the PH administration governed Putrajaya after securing a historic win against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 2018 general election.
“Efforts were started by the PH government but were put on the back burner after Perikatan Nasional and BN took over the administration,” it said, referring to the fall of the PH rule after just 22 months in power. – The Vibes, November 2, 2022
