Ministry mulls constitutional amendments on nationality issue

The Home Ministry has identified eight suggestions as amendments to the Federal Constitution relating to the nationality of children born outside Malaysia by Malaysian mothers married to foreign nationals.

Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said a ministry special committee set up to study the matter agreed to accept the eight suggestions.

However, no decision had been made so far as it would have to go through other processes at various stages.

The suggestions include lowering the age limit from 21 to 18 for someone to renounce their citizenship and the method of implementing the amendment would be retrospective or prospective when enforced.

"This means when the amendment is made and the law takes effect, a child will be a Malaysian citizen and also have citizenship to another country because of his father, so the child would have dual nationalities.

"But our Federal Constitution does not allow dual nationalities, so when does he have to renounce?

“Right now, the age set is 21, we are suggesting to reduce it to 18 so that it’s the same as the voting age.

“This will involve several suggested amendments to the Federal Constitution and related Acts, and will need to be coordinated,” he told reporters after attending the “Madani Icon Townhall with the Home Minister” programme at Universiti Utara Malaysia yesterday.

Need consent from rulers

Two special committees were set up to study the matters related to the amendments, first at the ministry level chaired by the ministry’s secretary-general, and the other at the cabinet level under his leadership, Saifuddin said.

Both committees would conduct detailed studies and engagement sessions with stakeholders as well as look at how other countries tackled the issue to ensure a comprehensive solution can be produced for the amendment.

The suggestions would be agreed upon at the ministry and cabinet levels before being presented to the Conference of Rulers.

If consent is received, it will then be tabled in Parliament, hopefully, at the session scheduled for year’s end.

In February, the cabinet was reported to have agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to provide citizenship to children born abroad by Malaysian mothers married to foreign nationals.

- Bernama