PETALING JAYA: The proposed constitutional amendments regarding the citizenship of children born overseas will be tabled in Parliament this month, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said Article 14(1)(b) would be amended to replace the word “father” with “parents or mother or father” after the draft was presented to the Conference of Rulers, Bernama reported.
Malaysian women with children born overseas have been unable to obtain citizenship for their children because the constitution grants citizenship through the father.
In September 2021, the High Court ruled that Malaysian women had the same right as men to confer citizenship on their children. However, the ruling was overturned at the Court of Appeal last year.
Six cases are scheduled to be heard by the Federal Court on June 25 on the same constitutional question, with an appeal against the appellate court decision among them.
Speaking at the 2024 International Women’s Day celebration here tonight, Anwar expressed belief that the constitutional amendment would receive unanimous support from MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.
“After so long since this matter was raised, we are able to make these very significant amendments,” he said.
