The government will table the proposed amendments to Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution relating to the citizenship of children born overseas in Parliament this month, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Last month, the Home Ministry said it would table to the cabinet a proposal to amend provisions related to citizenship rights of children born overseas to Malaysian mothers married to foreigners.
The proposed amendment inserts the word “mother” to enable Malaysian women to confer Malaysian citizenship to their overseas-born children.
“After so long since this matter being raised, the Madani government under the (women, family and community development) minister Nancy Shukri, we were able to make these very significant amendments,” he said at the 2024 International Women's Day celebration tonight.
The prime minister also believed the amendments would receive unanimous support from members of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat.
However, changes that have courted brickbats include amending the Second Schedule, Part II Section 1(e) which grants every stateless person born in Malaysia citizenship by operation of law.
In the meantime, Anwar said he had instructed Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain to give immediate attention to cases related to sexual harassment.
He said the existing Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840) and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal are insufficient if enforcement is not carried out effectively.
“It’s a shame, if we, as a country, talk about values and morals, but there are still painful news reports that knock on our hearts,” Anwar said.
He said that children were being sent to hostels (boarding schools) and maahad tahfiz with high hopes of nurturing them with good morals.
“Yet there are mistreatments and these must be stopped with all the strength of the national leadership,” he said.
Also present were the Prime Minister's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Nancy and her deputy Noraini Ahmad, and cabinet ministers.
- Bernama
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