Citizenship dilemmas for kids the result of 'bad laws', Hannah tells mums

Malaysian women who faced difficulties in applying for citizenship for their children born overseas should stop feeling guilty, according to Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.

"I am certain there were countless arguments at home as a result of this, and it can put a lot of stress on the marriages.

"I am here to tell you that you need to release and relieve yourself of that guilt and hear it from us. This is the result of bad laws, not your mistake, and not your wrongdoing," Yeoh said. 

The Federal Constitution allows the overseas-born children of Malaysian men to secure citizenship automatically, while Malaysian women have to apply for citizenship for their children born overseas.

Speaking at a forum on gender equal citizenship at Petaling Jaya earlier today, Yeoh recalled the guilt she once experienced in the aftermath of an attempt to register her eldest daughter's race as 'Anak Malaysia' when applying for a birth certificate.

"I want to address the mothers here, I am a mother and I understand the guilt that can sometimes fall on us," she said.

Yeoh said a National Registration Department (NRD) officer had registered her firstborn as Chinese after refusing to register the child as "Anak Malaysia".

She added that an NRD officer had registered her second daughter as Indian.

"So I have a Chinese daughter and an Indian daughter. They are Malaysian.

"I struggled after that because after the news reports, there were tweets condemning me for trying to score a political point using my baby. Which mother would do such a thing?" she said.

"The guilt that came after that. Did I do my best? Did I expose my kid to this kind of risk? What will my daughter do when she turn ten and is able to ‘Google’ her name? What would she read about herself?" asked Yeoh.

"I know this guilt is very real and present in the hearts and in the minds of the mothers who sit here today," she added.

Back then, Yeoh, who advocated that the column for race should be removed from birth certificates, was criticised as chauvinistic and racist, while others reprimanded her for seeking political mileage.

The forum today saw some 20 Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses seeking answers to the hurdles they faced in applying for Malaysian citizenship for their children.

 - Mkini