The government has gone to the Court of Appeal to quash a lower court's declaration that overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers are entitled to automatic citizenship.
Lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar confirmed to Malaysiakini that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) filed the notice of appeal today.
This means the AGC, which acted for the government - the defendant - in the legal action, has filed for the Court of Appeal to reverse the High Court ruling.
On Sept 9, a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge allowed the legal action by six Malaysian mothers and rights group Family Frontiers. Gurdial acted for the plaintiffs.
High Court judge Akhtar Tahir had ruled, among others, that Malaysian women (married to foreign men) have the same right, as Malaysian men married to foreign women, to confer citizenship by operation of law on their children born overseas.
Following the landmark court ruling, a few government ministers lauded the outcome, among them being Plantations and Industry Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun.
Gurdial today said that they were served a copy of the AGC's notice of appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling.
"Yes, they have filed the notice of appeal," the lawyer said.
On Dec 18 last year, the six Malaysian mothers and Family Frontiers filed the legal action, seeking a 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.
The government had previously mounted a failed attempt to strike out the lawsuit on the grounds that it was "troublesome and frivolous". - Mkini
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