Engage stakeholders further on changes to citizenship laws, Suhakam tells govt

 

Suhakam’s children’s commissioner, Farah Nini Dusuki, said shortcomings and weaknesses in the law need to be addressed with less ambiguity and more clarity.

PETALING JAYA: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged the government to hold further talks with stakeholders on proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution on citizenship laws involving children.

Its children’s commissioner, Farah Nini Dusuki, described the proposed amendments as “seemingly detached” and ignoring the circumstances that cause individuals, particularly children, to become stateless in the first place.

“We urge further detailed consultations with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that all the previous shortcomings and weaknesses in the law and Federal Constitution be addressed with less ambiguity and more clarity,” she said in a statement today.

Farah said the proposed amendments should be crafted “through the lens of having the effect of reducing statelessness and safeguarding the best interest of the children conjunctively”.

The home ministry has come under fire after it revealed its proposed amendments to citizenship laws to civil society organisations (CSOs) last Friday, with Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) describing them as “undoubtedly the worst since Merdeka”.

LFL director Zaid Malek said one of the proposed amendments to the constitution involved removing Section 1(e) of the Second Schedule Part 2, which currently safeguards individuals from statelessness.

He said such an amendment would be “the final nail in the coffin” for the countless stateless persons in Malaysia, including children and those born and raised in the country for generations, but have been denied a blue MyKad because of the lack of proper documentation.

Another amendment causing concern, Zaid said, pertains to Section 19B of the Second Schedule Part 3, which would strip foundlings, such as abandoned children or orphans, of their right to citizenship.

He said this leaves foundlings at the mercy of the home ministry to grant them citizenship.

Farah said the proposed amendments perpetuate the subordination of children’s rights to those of their parents.

She said children should be regarded as “full rights-holder individuals” who have the right to acquire citizenship.

The home ministry’s proposed amendments also drew flak from Wanita Umno leader Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who said desperate parents will not be less inclined to abandon a child simply because of stricter citizenship laws.

Shahrizat, who heads Umno’s women and family affairs council, said the constitution guarantees basic rights to children, including those who have been abandoned. These rights include education and healthcare. - FMT