Stateless and citizenship rights activists have called out Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail over his latest justification for a government’s proposal to amend the citizenship law related to foundlings.
Specifically, they cited Saifuddin’s winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat today over the amendment against automatic citizenship granted to foundlings and abandoned children.
The minister had said the change was a prevention against alleged abuse by foreigners seeking automatic citizenship for their babies born and later “abandoned” in government hospitals here.
Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas Malaysia director for social protection, Maalini Ramalo, said Section 19B, Part III of the Second Schedule, under the Federal Constitution - which Saifuddin cited - does not and should not apply to migrant babies “abandoned” in hospitals.
“Because if clearly the parents are known to be foreigners, then the government should do what is necessary,” she told Malaysiakini.
“If the government has clear information indicating that both parents are foreigners and have abandoned the child, why is it unable to trace these foreigners?
“Considering it is the government’s responsibility for border control and monitoring movements of migrants - aspects directly related to law enforcement,” said Maalini.
Section 19B of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution states that any newborn child found exposed in any place shall be presumed to have been born there of a mother permanently resident there unless it can be shown otherwise.
In other words, it applies to foundlings who are discovered with no trace of who their parents are.
Establish bilateral agreements
Rather than viewing the babies born in hospitals to migrant parents as stateless foundlings, Maalini said the government ought to establish bilateral agreements to ensure that they are registered with the relevant embassy based on administrative records.
Migrant Care Malaysian coordinator Alex Ong said issues surrounding foundlings and abandoned children should be viewed through a larger perspective with stakeholders’ engagements conducted both within the country, as well as migrant source countries.
“In this particular matter, we are still lacking a holistic policy to address the issue of foundlings or abandoned children from migrant parents.
“Look at the reasons why migrants are abandoning their children. That is a whole other complex discussion involving other ministries, as well as other governments,” he said.
Ong said Migrant Care, a Jakarta-based NGO, had in recent years assisted more than 200 children born here to be issued an Indonesian birth certificate and temporary travel document to return home.
“They were mostly born in plantations or farms in rural areas,” he said.
In many cases, Ong said the mothers had “absconded” from their workplaces after becoming pregnant, as doing so was a breach of their employment contract based on immigration laws which prevented hiring of pregnant migrant women.
“Most contracts will also state that if they want to get married, they have to return home and then come back as a migrant worker’s spouse.
“Many refused to leave because they still want to work here if possible.
“The added context is that for an ordinary migrant worker, unlike expatriates, it is very difficult if not impossible for them to apply to bring a wife here,” he said.
‘Not an insidious or cunning plan’
Child rights activist Hartini Zainudin said Saifuddin’s suggestion fundamentally misrepresents the dire predicaments faced by financially disadvantaged migrants here.
“In reality, the decision to leave a baby at a hospital is a heart-wrenching consequence of difficult and expensive access to healthcare, not an insidious or cunning plan,” she told Malaysiakini.
“When faced with the choice between indebting themselves for life or ensuring their newborn receives necessary medical attention, many parents are forced into a corner with no viable options.
“This situation is not one of choice but of sheer desperation,” she stressed.
Further, Hartini said discussions on the proposed citizenship law amendments should not focus on criminalising or demonising the most vulnerable, but rather address the systemic inequalities and barriers that lead to such desperate measures.
“The mention of unpaid hospital bills as a justification for amending the citizenship law is a red herring that distracts from the systemic issues at play.
“The focus should instead be on creating accessible healthcare solutions for all residents, regardless of their citizenship status, to prevent such desperate measures in the first place,” she said.
Earlier in Parliament, Saifuddin said unpaid hospital bills by migrants who gave birth in government hospitals and abandoned their babies amounted to “hundreds of millions of ringgit”.
“The reason they simply abandoned (their newborns) is because they know that under 19B, the children who are born in this country can (automatically) get citizenship,” he claimed.
Removal of the automatic citizenship status will mean that abandoned children must register to obtain citizenship as per Article 15A of the Federal Constitution, where the power to grant the status is shifted to the home minister. - Mkini
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