Over 57,000 renounced Malaysian citizenship for S'pore’s over 5 years

More than 57,000 Malaysians renounced their citizenship to become citizens of Singapore from 2020 to 2025, said a Malaysian official.

- Ian Cheng Correspondent

The figures were released in a Jan 7 report by Malaysian daily Harian Metro, citing National Registration Department director-general Badrul Hisham Alias.

A total of 61,116 Malaysians applied to move and become citizens of another country in the five-year period ended Dec 17, 2025, he said.

Of these, 93.78 per cent, or 57,315 applicants, were bound for Singapore, with 2.15 per cent headed to Australia, 0.97 per cent to Brunei and 3.1 per cent to other countries.

The largest group who applied to renounce their citizenship were those aged 31 to 40, at 19,287 applicants or 31.6 per cent.