They are one step forward and 10 steps back, says Syed Saddiq

PETALING JAYA: The citizenship law amendments are “one step forward and 10 steps back for the nation”, says Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

He said he was all for decoupling of the proposed citizenship law amendments to ensure children born overseas to Malaysian mothers were able to get their citizenships without rendering vulnerable groups to be stateless indefinitely.

“These amendments which have been proposed by the government are one step forward but 10 steps back.

“I urge the government to reconsider and am in support of decoupling the amendments. I am all for the first amendment (which provides citizenship for children born overseas to Malaysian mothers) but not for the other amendments.

“Credit must be given to voices of dissent within the government who have called for the decoupling of the changes to the law.

“This is why it is important to build a bipartisan front in Parliament,” he said yesterday.

Syed Saddiq was commenting on the proposed amendments to Article 14(1)(b) which will resolve the issue of citizenship of children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, which also involves several other amendments that could lead to a class of stateless children and women.

Suhakam said the right to a nationality was a fundamental human right and the right of every child to acquire a nationality was guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

“Being a recognised citizen of a country has many legal benefits which may include the right to vote, access to social security, health services, public education and to engage in employment, among others,” it said in a statement.

It urged the government to take a more holistic approach to address issues relating to citizenship in Malaysia by conducting comprehensive research on the impacts of the amendments.

“There should be a broad stakeholder consultation by engaging various stakeholders, including civil society organisations and experts working on children’s rights and statelessness.

“Suhakam is ready to assist the government in aligning domestic legislation with Malaysia’s international commitments and obligations to prevent and eradicate statelessness,” it said.

It commended the proposed progressive amendments to the entire Part III of the Federal Constitution, together with the First Schedule and the Second Schedule covering the issue of children’s citizenship for those born abroad to a Malaysian mother, giving effect to the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality under Article 8 of the Constitution.