Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

PETALING JAYA: Singapore has emerged as the top destination for Malaysians giving up their citizenship, with more than 61,000 people — mostly women — making the switch over the past five years, driven largely by economic opportunities and family ties.

As reported by Harian Metro (HM), women accounted for the highest applications, with 35,356 opting to relocate and take up citizenship elsewhere between 2019 and 17 December last year.

National Registration Department (NRD) director-general Datuk Badrul Hisham Alias revealed that, on average, around 10,000 Malaysians apply to renounce their citizenship each year.

He said most applicants sought to relinquish their Malaysian citizenship in favour of Singapore, which made up 93.78 per cent of cases, followed by Australia (2.15 per cent), Brunei (0.97 per cent) and other countries (3.1 per cent).

“Their reasons are largely economic or family-related. For example, in Singapore, many of them are already working there. At that point, it is easier for them to obtain citizenship because of employment and income factors,” he told HM in an exclusive interview.

The largest group applying to renounce their citizenship were aged between 31 and 40, totalling 19,287 (31.6 per cent), followed by those aged 21 to 30 at 18,827 (30.8 per cent), 41 to 50 at 14,126 (23.1 per cent), and over 50 at 8,876 (14.5 per cent),” he said.