KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): Former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government’s opposition to the High Court decision to confer citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian women married to foreigners is “medieval thinking”.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, the Barisan Nasional lawmaker said Putrajaya’s move to appeal the court decision is in direct contravention of its “Keluarga Malaysia” slogan.

Justice Datuk Akhtar Tahir, who made the decision recently, said the word "father" in the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution must mean and include “mother”.

However, shortly after the judgment, Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun said the government has filed a notice of appeal to set aside the decision.

“There is no excuse for what the government is doing. This is medieval thinking and should not exist in 2021,” Nazri said today while debating the royal address.

“The prime minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) said we are all Keluarga Malaysia, but we rejected a genuine person who wants to be a Malaysian without giving them a choice,” he said.

The former minister urged Ismail Sabri and Idrus to rescind the appeal, adding that it is discriminatory against women.

“I  call upon the government to just withdraw (the appeal). There is no point (in pursuing it),” he said.

For more Parliament stories, click here.