KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): The hotly debated proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution on citizenship laws have been tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.

Among the proposed amendments, the bill seeks to amend Part II of the Second Schedule to the Federal Constitution to accord equal rights to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.

Prior to this amendment, a child born overseas could only acquire citizenship if one’s father is a Malaysian citizen.

"With the amendment to paragraph (b) of section 1 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Federal Constitution, the birth of a child born outside the Federation shall be registered, within one year of its occurrence or within such longer period as the Federal Government may allow, at a consulate of the Federation or with the Federal Government," the bill reads.

Other amendments include a revision to Clause 2 of Article 15 of the Federal Constitution to lower the age limit for citizenship application to 18 from 21, in line with the voting age in Malaysia, as well as adjustments to the definition of a child as provided in the Child Act 2001 and the age of majority as provided in the Age of Majority Act 1971.

The bill also seeks to amend clause (1) of Article 15 of the Federal Constitution to impose an additional requirement of having adequate knowledge of the Malay language on any married woman applying for citizenship by registration.

Furthermore, it aims to amend Part II of the Second Schedule to the Federal Constitution by revising paragraph (a) of Section 1 to specify that only a child born within Malaysia, with at least one parent being a citizen at the time of the child's birth, is eligible for citizenship.

With this proposed amendment, a child born within Malaysia, with at least one parent being a permanent resident in Malaysia at the time of birth, will no longer be eligible for citizenship.

The bill was tabled in Parliament by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and was scheduled for its second and third reading in this meeting.

Since the bill involves amending the Constitution, it would require the approval of two-thirds of the total number of members of the lower house, or 148 votes.

Opposition hints at rejection

Meanwhile, the Opposition expressed surprise that certain provisions discussed during engagements with the ministry were not included in the final version of the bill and hinted at the possibility of rejecting it.

The provisions in question are Article 19B and Section 1(e) of Part 2 of Schedule 2 of the Federal Constitution. These amendments would have deprived foundlings and stateless children of automatic citizenship, instead requiring them to register for it.

In a news conference, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) said that the government should have briefed the Opposition before finalising the version of the bill that was tabled in Parliament.

He said that the Opposition had nearly "fully agreed" to the proposed amendments discussed during the briefing by the home minister, and questioned why the government suddenly omitted these provisions.

"We may agree to the proposed amendments discussed during the briefing by the home minister, but perhaps not to the final version of the bill, based on several factors that we will raise during the debate session," he said.