Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22): The government said it will propose a constitutional amendment granting Malaysian women married to foreigners the right to confer citizenship on their children born abroad.

Speaking in Parliament today, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the consent of the Conference of Rulers will first have to be obtained before the amendment can be made.

“We have to bring it to the Conference of Rulers first. If they agree then we will change the Constitution, that is our stand,” he said in his winding-up speech on the royal address.

He said the government has chosen this route as a “middle path” to solve the pressing issue.

Putrajaya, he added, had applied for a stay of execution on the recent High Court ruling that the word "father" in the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution must be deemed to also include “mother”.

He said the government decided to appeal the High Court decision so that a stay of execution can be sought to avoid being charged with contempt of court.

“We want to apply for a stay of execution so that we avoid contempt of court. We also want to amend the Constitution to facilitate Malaysian women married to foreign spouses whose children are born abroad,” he said.

Hamzah also noted that was another case involving a similar issue where the court ruled in the government’s favour.

“After the two conflicting decisions, the Home Ministry is using a new approach to amend the Federal Constitution,” he said.

Hamzah said that while he sympathised with mothers who are in this predicament, he has also taken an oath to uphold the Federal Constitution and is therefore bound by the current constitutional provisions.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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