Malaysia drops controversial changes to citizenship rules

Move follows backlash over proposals that would make vulnerable children stateless

- Shannon Teoh

Malaysia has dumped plans for controversial changes to its citizenship laws after it received widespread condemnation, even from ruling party lawmakers who warned it would render thousands of children stateless.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told a press conference after the Cabinet met on March 22 that the conferment of citizenship rights by operation of law to foundlings and abandoned children, and the safeguarding of a citizenship pathway for vulnerable children those born out of wedlock and adopted stateless children would not be removed.

But he said that other constitutional amendments that were criticised would be retained. These involved removing automatic citizenship for children of permanent residents born in the country, lowering the age limit of childhood citizenship applications from 21 to 18, and depriving foreign wives of citizenship if the marriage is dissolved within two years of them becoming Malaysian.

The announcement confirms The Straits Times' March 16 report that MPs in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had revolted against the planned changes. One of their several counterproposals retained only the deterrence against marriages of convenience and the lowering of the age limit for childhood citizenship applications.