Suhakam joins criticism of proposed amendments to citizenship laws

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today said that the government was being "wilfully dangerous" in its proposal to amend the country's citizenship laws, a move which rights groups and experts warn would victimise tens of thousands of stateless children. 

Farah Nini Dusuki, Suhakam's children's commissioner, said the proposed amendments appeared "detached from the necessity to take into consideration the contextual circumstances that render individuals, especially children, stateless in the first place". 

"In the attempt to comprehensively overhaul the provision of citizenship enunciated in the Federal Constitution, it is wilfully dangerous in conflating the intention that seeks to refine the intricate practice of the acquisition of citizenship and ensure greater inclusivity with the potential for discrimination and the exclusion of certain groups," she said. 

More than 100 organisations and activists involved in the fight for equal citizenship previously warned Putrajaya against any attempt to quietly amend citizenship laws that could victimise stateless children, despite the government's pledge to go ahead with a constitutional amendment to help those born abroad to Malaysian mothers.

Constitutional expert Shad Saleem Faruqi meanwhile said that any decision to remove the constitutional safeguards to protect individuals from becoming stateless would result in a large new class of stateless people. 

In a statement, Farah said that children should be regarded as "full rights-holder individuals" with the right to acquire Malaysian citizenship. 

"On the other hand, the proposed amendments aggravate the subsumption of their rights under their parents. 

"The proposed amendments should be crafted through the lens of having the effect of reducing statelessness and the best interest of the children conjunctively," she said.

Difficult registration process for religious schools

In a separate matter, she voiced concern over reported challenges in the registration process for religious schools or SARs, which she said play a "vital role" in providing religious education and guidance to many children in the country. 

While many SARs had submitted applications to the education ministry or state religious departments, she said some were still awaiting approval. 

"This situation exposes these schools to legal consequences and renders them ineligible for financial assistance, necessary infrastructure, and qualified teaching personnel," she added, urging the authorities to expedite the process for these schools. 

She also proposed that the state religious departments collaborate with zakat centres and religious councils at the state level to provide financial assistance for schools which faced difficulties in meeting the operational requirements.