Press Statement
Saifuddin’s new excuse for removal of automatic citizenship for PR’s children is based on historical ignorance & wrong facts
22 March 2024
I refer to the statement by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution in parliament yesterday in which he confirmed that the government would remove automatic citizenship of children born to permanent residents (PR). He claimed that the provision was legislated in 1963 to cater for Singaporeans entering Malaysia after the separation of the two countries, and who may marry and have children here.
This provision which is section 1(a) of Part 2 of 2nd Schedule of the Constitution which provides that if either parent is a permanent resident, their child born in Malaysia will automatically qualify to be a Malaysian citizen.
Saifuddin’s reasoning for removing the PR’s clause in section 1(a) is fundamentally flawed as it is based on incorrect facts and failure to grasp its historical origins.
Firstly, Singapore left Malaysia in 1965, and not 1963 as implied by Saifuddin. The PR’s children clause came into existence in 1963 via the Malaysia Act 1963. It was not inserted into the constitution in 1965 to deal with fallout from the separation of the two countries as alleged by Saifuddin. This is a basic fact, how could the minister get it wrong?
The real purpose of the PR’s kids clause is to prevent children of a PR from becoming stateless; it is not to give citizenship to children of Singaporean red IC holders as stated in the minster’s reply in parliament. Also, skilled workers needed for critical sectors will not settle in Malaysia if their kids don’t have citizenship. In short, Malaysia will lose out in both these ways if the PR’s kids clause is removed.
Saifuddin’s attempt to justify this amendment by claiming that the child of a Malaysian permanent resident in Australia would also not get automatic citizenship is also completely wrong. In fact, by virtues of section 12 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, every child of a permanent resident is automatically a citizen.
These serious factual and historical errors raise the question of whether the government is in full grasp of key facts related to the controversial citizenship amendments or whether they comprehend the full ramifications of the amendments if passed. They seem clueless and daily produce fresh factually wrong justifications.
The only right thing for the government to do now, in the interest of the nation, is to withdraw these proposed amendments and proceed only with the change on children born to overseas mothers.
Issued by:
N Surendran
Advisor, Lawyers for Liberty & former Member of Parliament