KUALA LUMPUR: Despite criticism of the proposed amendments to citizenship laws, the Home Ministry is confident that continuous engagement with MPs will lead to the support it needs for the amendments to be passed, says minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said he is currently carrying out a series of explanations for the MPs to explain the provisions on children’s citizenship rights.
He said it is hoped these explanations will address the concerns and objections raised by certain quarters regarding the proposed amendments.
“If I continue to be given an opportunity to clarify this matter, I am confident the amendments can get the required support (in Parliament),” he told reporters after opening the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Special Dialogue at the Royal Malaysia Police College here yesterday.
Several MPs have expressed concern about the amendments, including Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, who said he would oppose the amendments because he felt there was no reason to change the provisions that have been in force for so long.
Parties criticising the amendments say that if it gets passed, it would affect foundlings who would need to go through bureaucratic processes to gain citizenship.
Speaking on claims that the amendments were “regressive”, Saifuddin Nasution strongly disagreed with this view.
“For citizenship to be granted, there must be a police report, a medical report and a report by the Welfare Department. And if these are followed through, the baby will be granted citizenship,” he said.
He added there were 142 citizenship applications for recovered abandoned babies approved from 2014 until last year, obtained through police reports, hospital records, and Welfare Department reports.
Saifuddin Nasution also reiterated his commitment to resolving the remaining 14,000 citizenship applications under Article 15a of the Federal Constitution through legislative authority for children born out of wedlock, adopted children, or abandoned children exceeding infant age before Dec 31 of this year.
He said that there were many cases of unregistered births with Malaysian parents as well, especially in areas in Sarawak.
“Many of those staying deep in the Sarawak interior, for example, do not register births, and we are currently working with the Sarawak government on this. In the eyes of the law, these children are still eligible to be citizens, but their births were not registered with the NRD (National Registration Department).
“So how do we tackle this issue when they are already 11 or 15 years old? Last year, we solved 1,500 citizenship issues for Sarawak alone,” he said.
The Cabinet on March 8 gave the go-ahead for the proposed amendments.
