A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organisation (NGO) has urged the Government to embark on reforms by amending the Federal Constitution, with regards to conferring citizenship to minors and protecting children from discrimination.
“The Government must lift its reservations to Articles 2 and 7 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), an international treaty ratified by the Malaysian Government in 1995.
“It directly relates to discrimination and the right to name and nationality. Its actions and decisions must unequivocally prioritise the needs of children,” said The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), in a statement.
Yesterday, the Federal Court, in a majority 4-3 decision, dismissed an appeal by a 10-year-old boy who was born to a Malaysian father and a Filipino mother to get Malaysian citizenship.
Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf, who delivered the court’s majority decision, said the child did not meet the required criteria under the Federal Constitution to be declared a Malaysian citizen via operation of law.
The child was born in the Philippines in September 2010 and a few months later, he and his parents travelled to Malaysia where the couple registered their marriage in February 2011.
Rohana said legitimisation of the child after birth precluded him from being a citizen by operation of law, under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution.
“This is because the provisions of the Federal Constitution are clear that citizenship by operation of law must be determined at his birth, not after that,” Bernama reported her as saying.
Dismayed by the apex court’s verdict, JAG said that the decision clearly disregarded Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees equality and protection of all persons against discrimination.
Right to life and liberty linked to citizenship
Elaborating on the case, the NGO said that the child’s parents applied for his citizenship when he was five months old, after the parents got legally wedded.
The application, however, was rejected in 2012 and later an Originating Summons was filed by the parents against the National Registration Department (NRD), Home Ministry and the Malaysian Government.
“It’s clear that the ten-year long battle in court did not end just with disappointment and injustice for the child and his family, but impacts negatively on Malaysians who wish to see equality upheld,” it stated.
JAG said that the misinterpretation of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution undermines the very basis upon which it was created, which is to prevent discrimination.
Judges, it added, bear the responsibility of ensuring the Federal Constitution is upheld at all times.
“The gender of the Malaysian parent should stand irrelevant as a determinant of whether they confer citizenship onto their children. A judgment made without considering this as well as based solely on a narrow interpretation of the Federal Constitution and the perceived legitimacy of the child, is dangerous and damaging to all children and families in the country,” it stressed.
JAG voiced its agreement with the dissenting judgment delivered by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and the two others judges, who stood against discrimination in the conferment of citizenship.
“We also believe that the right to nationality is closely bound to the right to life and liberty, as it permeates all parts of a child’s reality including access to education, healthcare and security.”
With the judges asking the child to apply for citizenship under Article 15(2) of the Federal Constitution, JAG said it would only prolong the uncertainty faced by the child and his family.
“There were 34,286 citizenship applications for children below the age of 21 under Article 15 for the period of 2013 to early 2019 alone, as per data from the National Registration Department.
“And the success rate stands at an abysmal 3% to date,” they remarked. – May 29, 2021.
