Draft:2024 Constitutional Amendment on Citizenship (Malaysia)
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| Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Malaysia | |
| |
| Territorial extent | Throughout Malaysia |
| Passed by | Dewan Rakyat |
| Passed | 17 October 2024 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | D.R. 13/2024 |
| Introduced by | Saifuddin Nasution bin Ismail - Minister of Home Affairs |
| First reading | 25 March 2024 |
| Second reading | 27 March - 17 October 2024 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Third reading | 17 October 2024 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Amends | |
| Federal Constitution of Malaysia | |
| Keywords | |
| Citizenship, Nationality, Permanent residency, Federal Constitution, Constitutional amendment, Malaysia | |
| Status: Pending | |
The 2024 Constitutional Amendment on Citizenship in Malaysia, officially called Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Malay: RUU Perlembagaan (Pindaan) 2024), is an Act of Parliament enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia to amend the Federal Constitution on the matters of citizenship, with the main objective of granting automatic citizenship right to overseas-born children of Malaysian mothers who are married to a foreign national husband.
This Bill was initially welcomed as a progressive move by the Anwar's Unity Government to give equal rights on Malaysian female spouse to confer automatic citizenship on their overseas-born children. However, when it was later reveal that the Bill was coupled with several other provisions that numerous rights groups claimed "regressive", it was soon faced with public outcry and protest by numerous NGOs and women rights groups.
This Bill was first tabled to the Dewan Rakyat on 25 March 2024 by the Minister of Home Affairs, Saifuddin Nasution, and has been approved by the Dewan Rakyat on 17 October 2024.
Background
[edit]Malaysia is one of 25 countries that does not give mothers and fathers equal rights under the country’s citizenship law.[1][2] Children born outside Malaysia to a Malaysian woman married to a foreign spouse are not entitled to automatic citizenship as citizen by operation of law under Article 14 and Part II of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, yet children born overseas to a Malaysian father married to a foreign spouse are entitled to automatic citizenship under the same provisions.[1][3]
Overseas Malaysian mothers can only pursue for Malaysian citizenship for their overseas-born children by applying under Article 15(2)[3] or Article 15A,[4] which is subjected to the Home Minister's discretionary approval.[5] Such applications are often critised as bureaucratic, have long waiting time,[5][3] high rejection rate,[5][6] and no reason was given if rejected.[7][8][5] Several women rights groups,[9] NGOs[10] and lawyers[3][11] have critised this provision in Malaysia's nationality law as biased and discriminating against women in terms of citizenship.[1][5]
Landmark court cases of overseas Malaysian mothers
[edit]Proposed amendment
[edit]Changes in the proposed amendment before tabling in Parliament
[edit]On 25 March 2024, during the first Dewan Rakyat meeting in 2024, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 was finally tabled for its first reading, which the attempted amendment to section 1(e), Part II (protection on person not born a citizen of any other country) and section 19B, Part III (protection on rights of foundlings) of the Second Schedule were dropped and not included in the Bill.[12][13]
On 27 March 2024, the Bill was tabled for a second reading, but the second reading could not be completed on that day as the Speaker has adjourned the Dewan Rakyat meeting until further notice (sine die).[14][15][16]
The second Dewan Rakyat meeting in 2024 subsequently convened on 24 June 2024, but the Bill was not debated in this second meeting, which only lasted until 18 July 2024 and was again adjourned until further notice.[17][18]
In the third Dewan Rakyat meeting in 2024, which started on 14 October 2024,[19] the debate on the Bill was finally resumed on 16 October 2024 and continued until the next day.
On 17 October 2024, the second and third reading of the Bill was passed by the Dewan Rakyat without any additional amendment on the Bill, with 206 in favour and 1 against, surpassing the two-third majority requirement to amend the Federal Constitution.[20] 14 MPs were absent from the vote and 1 MP, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, could not cast his vote as he was suspended from the Dewan Rakyat sittings for 6 months back in 18 July 2024.[20][21]
Changes in the proposed amendment after tabling in Parliament
[edit]Legislation Provisions
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lim, Ida (4 December 2020). "Malaysia one of 25 countries discriminating against mothers over children's citizenship, civil groups say in debunking deputy minister's national security claim". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Challenges faced by Malaysian women with children born overseas during the Covid-19 crisis". Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d Lim, Ida (28 April 2021). "What is women minister doing over Malaysia's discrimination of Malaysian mothers in citizenship laws, ex-deputy ministers Hannah Yeoh, Azis ask". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lim, Ida (4 December 2020). "Putrajaya's discrimination in citizenship laws causing Malaysians' children to be stateless, advocacy group says". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e Ding, Emily (13 August 2021). "Malaysia's Sexist Citizenship Law Is Keeping Families Apart". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Abdul Karim, Luqman Arif (18 July 2019). "111,142 mohon warganegara dalam tempoh 5 tahun" [111,142 applied for citizenship in 5 years]. Berita Harian (in Malay). Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lim, Ida (26 March 2019). "Reality check for Malaysia-born stateless children on 'special citizenship' route". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lim, Ida (27 March 2019). "Why Malaysia-born illegitimate children with foreign mothers are stateless". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Children Born To Malaysian Women Are NOT A National Threat!". All Women's Action Society. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "As Malaysian mothers seek citizenship for overseas-born children, lawyer says shouldn't close courts' door against them". Borneo Post Online. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Yee Lynn, Karen Cheah (9 August 2022). "Press Release | Discrimination and Double Standards When Women are Denied Right to Confer Citizenship on their Children". Malaysian Bar. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sallehuddin, Qistina; Naz Harun, Hana (25 March 2024). "Bill to amend citizenship law tabled for first reading in Dewan Rakyat". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Iskandar, Iylia Marsya (22 March 2024). "Govt drops proposed amendments to citizenship law for foundlings". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Vethasalam, Ragananthini; Tan, Tarrence; Gek San, Khoo (27 March 2024). "Proposed citizenship law amendment not put for vote as Dewan Rakyat adjourns". The Star. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
- ^ Nyen Yiau, Choy (27 March 2024). "Vote on citizenship law amendments postponed to June Parliament session". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Dewan Rakyat Adjourns Sine Die, 14 Bills Passed". BERNAMA. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Yusry, Muhammad (18 July 2024). "Second reading of citizenship amendment Bill postponed to next Dewan Rakyat session". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Reading of Four Bills Postponed To Next Dewan Rakyat Meeting". BERNAMA. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Tee, Kenneth (14 October 2024). "Four Bills to watch out for in the last Dewan Rakyat sitting of 2024: Two on online safety as scams and cyberbullies spike, one for gig workers, and one on citizenship". Malay Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Solhi, Farah (17 October 2024). "Citizenship Amendment Bill passed with two-third majority". The Malaysian Reserve. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sallehuddin, Qistina; Mohamed Radhi, Nor Ain (18 July 2024). "[Updated] Wan Fayhsal suspended for six months from Dewan Rakyat". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)