A GROUP of civil society organisations (CSOs) and advocates have expressed their concern over the upcoming Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 – specifically the provisions relating to citizenship – that is set to be debated in Parliament.
With just four days remaining before the Dewan Rakyat meeting begins, the group said they have yet to receive any updates or refinements to the Bill as announced by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in July 2024.
“This lack of transparency and communication is deeply troubling and contrary to the Madani government’s promise of a more inclusive and transparent democracy,” they said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 10).
“We have previously highlighted that the Bill, in its current form, contains critical flaws that, if not addressed, will have far-reaching consequences for vulnerable communities across Malaysia, not least the indigenous communities of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.”
They further called for Saifuddin to transparently disclose full details of how he intends to address these critical flaws, including the exact refinements to the Bill or any regulations to the Bill, and give all stakeholders sufficient time to study the Home Ministry’s proposed amendments.
“The bill should not move forward in its current form as it combines several regressive amendments with a positive amendment addressing the rights of Malaysian mothers,” they stressed.
“While the Bill contains a positive provision – allowing Malaysian mothers to automatically confer citizenship to their children born overseas – this is the only progressive amendment.
“However, this amendment does not have retroactive application, which means that current overseas-born children (including those over 21 years) of Malaysian mothers will continue to be discriminated against as they will still not have an automatic right to citizenship.”
In a joint statement signed by over 200 signatories, they noted that the Bill also includes three regressive constitutional amendments that will negatively impact the children of permanent residents (PR); citizenship applications of stateless children above the age of 18; and foreign spouses to Malaysian men.
“To address the potential increase in statelessness caused by these amendments, we call for safeguards to be introduced in the Bill so that Constitutional guarantees which have existed since the formation of the Federation are not eroded,” they stated.
“We remind MPs that although points raised during parliamentary debates are recorded in the
Hansard, they do not bind ministers or the government to specific policies or laws. Therefore, it is crucial that all safeguards are explicitly included in the Bill itself, ensuring no ambiguity or risk of future misinterpretation.”
They urged the government to act in the best interests of the people and not assume that “only it knows best”.
“On matters involving fundamental rights and freedoms, all stakeholders must be meaningfully consulted,” they added.
“We call on the Home Minister to withdraw the amendments related to the denial of automatic citizenship to children of Malaysian permanent residents (Section 1(a)) and ensure that the amendment for Malaysian mothers is made retroactive.”
Additionally, necessary safeguards must be included to protect those at risk of statelessness due to these constitutional changes.
“In light of the urgency and complexity of this issue, should the Bill continue to be tabled, we request that the government decouple the Bill and vote on its provisions in parts, ensuring that each section is thoroughly scrutinized,” they continued.
“All safeguards should be fully discussed, and risks presented transparently before any debate in Parliament takes place.”
The Bill to amend the Federal Constitution was supposed to be tabled for a second reading by March 27, which was the last day of the previous Dewan Rakyat meeting.
However, after the Home Minister delivered his speech, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul presented his closing speech and adjourned the meeting without putting the Bill forward for debate. The Bill was tabled for the first reading on March 25.
Although the Bill on constitutional amendments to citizenship laws was on the order paper in the previous Dewan Rakyat meeting which concluded in July after being in session for 15 days, it was not presented for debate and subsequently did not proceed to the second and third readings.
In fact, it was one of the four Bills postponed to the next meeting of the House, which will begin on Oct 14. – Oct 10, 2024
Main image: Al Jazeera
