Zuraida hopes home ministry, JPN act fast to implement court ruling on citizenship

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin today hailed the landmark ruling by the High Court favouring the automatic conferral of citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian women married to foreign men, calling for the speedy implementation of the decision on the part of the government.

Zuraida, who is president of the Council of Malaysian Women Political Leaders, said the ruling effectively accords women the same rights as men in the matter.

“As mentioned by the court, this will not need any policy changes but simply to apply existing laws to uplift the spirit of the Federal Constitution.

“However, the home ministry and the National Registration Department must now act quickly to institutionalise and implement the said ruling by drafting the procedures for application,” she said in a statement.

The suit was filed on Dec 18 last year by the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) and six Malaysian women married to foreigners.

They had sought six specific court orders, including a declaration that Section 1(b) and Section 1(c) of the Second Schedule, Part II of the Federal Constitution be read harmoniously with Article 8 (2) to include Malaysian mothers as a condition for children born abroad to be given automatic Malaysian citizenship.

High Court judge Akhtar Tahir, who ruled that this provision must also mean and include mothers, also ordered that all relevant authorities issue the necessary documents such as identity cards to such children in recognition of the effect.