JOINT STATEMENT
One step forward, one step back: Malaysian law reform addresses gender
discrimination in its citizenship law, while undermining nationality rights for
vulnerable groups – where does this leave the struggle against statelessness?
24 October 2024
On 17 October, the Malaysian lower house of parliament passed a controversial bill to amend
its citizenship laws, in a close to unanimous vote. The bill will now proceed to the upper house,
most likely in December 2024. Containing several amendments, the bill represents an
important milestone for gender equality as it recognises Malaysian women’s equal right as
men to confer automatic citizenship on their children born overseas (Section 1(b and c) of the
Second Schedule, Part II of the Federal Constitution). However, the bill also contains a
multitude of regressive provisions that undermine nationality rights and may increase and
perpetuate statelessness. They include the following:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Children born to Malaysian Permanent Residents (“PR”) no longer gain automatic
citizenship (Section 1(a) of the Second Schedule, Part II of the Federal
Constitution). This may impact thousands of individuals in vulnerable populations
including the indigenous community of Malaysia (Orang Asli and Orang Asal), and
people who moved to Malaysia prior to its Independence in 1957 who only possess
PR status.
The age limit for citizenship applications has been lowered from 21 to 18 years
(Article 15(A) of the Federal Constitution). This effectively removes three years
from the available time for a stateless child to apply for citizenship and its effects
are compounded by prevailing bureaucratic inefficiencies of the application
process.
Foreign wives of Malaysian men may be deprived of their citizenship if the marriage
dissolves within two years of the wife acquiring Malaysian citizenship (Article 26(2)
of the Federal Constitution). This renders the nationality of women who acquired it
through marriage, less secure and contingent on remaining married. It can result
in women being trapped in abusive or violent marriages for fear of becoming
stateless due to Malaysia’s prohibition of dual citizenship.
Additionally, the amendment on Malaysian women’s equal citizenship rights is non-retroactive,
excluding Malaysian women with children born overseas prior to the law coming into force.
Other changes included imposing a one-year time limit to register births of a child born
overseas, adding a language proficiency requirement for the naturalisation of foreign wives,
and requiring children born abroad to take an oath of allegiance before registering and
receiving citizenship. The bill also introduces a presumption that foundlings are born in the
country to a Malaysian citizen.