Schedule as part of a list of citizenship amendments scheduled to be tabled in October 2023.26 If this provision is removed, it will further deprive stateless children of their pathway to citizenship and fundamental liberties and rights, potentially leading to an increase in statelessness in Malaysia. Similarly, Section 19(B) is set to be amended, replacing the existing provision of automatic citizenship for foundlings with a discretionary application process that places the burden of proving statelessness on the child.27 23. In June 2023, two committees were established to study the proposed amendments mentioned above.28 However, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of transparency and inclusive consultation with stakeholders on the proposed amendments. Following media attention on this, several civil society organisations (CSOs) were invited to a consultation where the proposed amendments were revealed. However, the draft amendment itself remains undisclosed to the general public and CSOs. 24. In the meantime, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced efforts to prioritise the processing of applications for Malaysian citizenship of adopted children and those born before independence. The Ministry aims to approve at least 10,000 applications in 2023 and has implemented a shorter processing period to expedite the application.29 ISSUE II. The Bajau Laut in Sabah, East Malaysia 25. The Bajau Laut is a large community in Sabah that make their livelihood through marine-based income sources. They lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle in boats or stilt houses without identity documentation and are denied the right to citizenship.30 Despite being born in Malaysia before independence and holding the right to citizenship, they have not been granted Malaysian citizenship and face intergenerational statelessness.31 26. The Bajau Laut community’s non-recognition by the Malaysian state, connected to lack of access to documentation such as birth certification, lack of access to basic services, rural isolation, discrimination and marginalisation of the population, along with other administrative barriers has led to conditions of intergenerational statelessness today.32 The insufficiency of these institutional mechanisms coupled with the irregular migrant flows also 26 Malay Mail, ‘Proposed Constitutional Amendments Will Worsen Childhood Statelessness in Malaysia - Civil Society Organisations’ Malay Mail (24 June 2023) <https://www.malaymail.com/news/what-you-think/2023/06/24/proposedconstitutional-amendments-will-worsen-childhood-statelessness-in-malaysia-civil-society-organisations/76124> accessed 27 June 2023 27 ‘Govt’s Proposal on Citizenship Laws Worst since Merdeka, Says LFL’ Free Malaysia Today (24 June 2023) <https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/06/24/govts-proposal-on-citizenship-laws-worst-sincemerdeka-says-lfl/> accessed 27 June 2023 28 ‘Home Ministry Identifies Eight Suggestions for Constitutional Amendments Related to Nationality’ New Straits Times (10 June 2023) <https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/06/918726/home-ministry-identifies-eight-suggestionsconstitutional-amendments> accessed 27 June 2023 29 Singh S, ‘Priority for Adopted Kids, Pre-Merdeka Birth Dates in Citizenship Application Process’ The Star (13 April 2023) <https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/04/13/priority-for-adopted-kids-those-born-before-independencewhen-processing-citizenship-applications> accessed 27 June 2023 30 UPR Malaysia, ISI <https://files.institutesi.org/UPR31_Malaysia.pdf> 31 See Bathmaloshanee M, Maalini Ramalo and Savarana M Sinpan, ‘Report Statelessness in Malaysia’ (DHRRA, April 2022) 10-11<https://dhrramalaysia.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/STATELESSNESS-IN-MALAYSIA-REPORT05042022_compressed.pdf> 32 See Wan Shawaluddin Was Hassan and Diana Peters, ‘The Vulnerability of Bajau Laut as Stateless People in Sabah’ (2020) 26(2) Jurnal Kinbalu Bil 184 7