Govt appeals over suit seeking citizenship for overseas-born children

 

The government has gone to the Court of Appeal to strike out a lawsuit seeking automatic citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers.

In a media statement today, non-government organisation (NGO) Family Frontiers expressed disappointment with the government’s move to file the appeal.

The government is appealing against the decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on May 6 to dismiss its application to strike out the suit by the family rights group and six Malaysian mothers. 

The group and six women are the seven plaintiffs while the government is the sole defendant in the suit.

In dismissing the striking-out bid with no order to cost, judge Akhtar Tahir ruled that the legal action involves an important issue that is not frivolous.

The judge noted among others that the matter involves the issue of discrimination in the country's citizenship laws against Malaysian mothers, which the government needs to give justification during the full hearing of the suit.

The legal action is set for a full hearing of its merits on June 30.

Family Frontiers said the May 6 High Court decision was greeted with a great sense of hope among the hundreds of Malaysian women awaiting citizenship for their children.

“It is very disheartening that the government would attempt to deprive these women of their avenue for justice, and to prolong the hardships of the women and their non-citizen children.

“Even as the government continues to question the validity and sincerity of the case filed concerning citizenship laws, thousands of Malaysian women and their non-citizen children continue facing unequal access to fundamental rights, each day.

“This is a missed opportunity for the government to rectify this discrimination and make amends to its women who have been negatively impacted for over 60 years by their inability to obtain citizenship for their children on an equal basis as Malaysian men,” the group said.

Through the legal action filed on Dec 18 last year, the seven plaintiffs had sought a court declaration that Malaysian women married to foreign spouses can automatically get citizenship for their children born overseas.

This came after the government refused to budge on allowing the children of these mothers to be eligible for citizenship.  - Mkini