Does a foreigner gain bumiputera status by marrying a Malay, Labis MP asks

 

A Pakatan Harapan backbencher sought clarity on whether a Muslim foreigner is considered to have bumiputera status if they marry a Malay citizen in the country.

Labis MP Pang Hok Liong, in his question to Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, asked if such foreigners would enjoy the rights or privileges accorded to bumiputera, as well as the conditions involved if they marry a citizen of Malay ethnicity.

Saifuddin subsequently explained that a marriage between a Muslim foreign national and a Malaysian citizen of Malay descent does not alter the foreign national’s ethnicity to Malay.

According to him, the foreigner's ethnicity according to his or her original ancestry remains, and the National Registration Department (NRD) will not make any determination to change it.

“In addition, determining whether an individual holds bumiputera status and their eligibility to enjoy rights or privileges accorded to bumiputera falls outside NRD's jurisdiction.

“This is because the matter is subject to the laws, policies, and conditions set by the relevant agencies or authorities,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

However, Saifuddin (above) added that if a birth results from a legally recognised marriage under such circumstances, the child's mother or father may choose whether their child is registered according to either parent's ancestry.

Under the Federal Constitution, a Malay is defined as someone who professes Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs, and meets the relevant constitutional criteria concerning birth or residence in the federation before Merdeka Day. -Mkini