KUCHING: Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, welcomed the move toward granting automatic citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.
She described it as a strong step forward for gender equality and a long-awaited breakthrough for affected families.
Fatimah also said the initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to treating Malaysian mothers and fathers equally in citizenship matters – an issue long highlighted by advocacy groups and affected parents.
“When citizenship is granted automatically because the law says so, the process becomes faster and fairer. This is real progress for gender equality,” she said.
She said this to Sarawak Tribune when commenting on the latest update from the Home Ministry.
Home Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, recently announced that the implementation process is actively underway and targeted for rollout by the middle of next year.
This includes preparing new registration forms, updating systems, and issuing fresh instructions to Malaysian diplomatic missions worldwide.
He added that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) is in the final stages of reviewing amendments to laws, regulations and administrative procedures following Parliaments historic passage of the constitutional amendment last year.
The review includes changes to the Nationality Regulations 1964 and the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, which will facilitate automatic citizenship for children born abroad to Malaysian mothers married to foreign fathers.
When the amendment takes effect, Malaysian mothers living overseas will be able to register their children’s births at the embassy, and the issued birth certificates will confirm Malaysian citizenship, Saifuddin told BERNAMA.
On October 17 last year, the Dewan Rakyat passed the Constitution Amendment Bill 2024 with a two-thirds majority, marking a historic step toward aligning the citizenship rights of mothers with those of fathers.
