KUALA LUMPUR: The government should make public any updates on the bill to amend citizenship, said a group supporting vulnerable and marginalised communities.
On July 19, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Conference of Rulers had greenlit the latest version of the bill.
He said this would set the stage for parliamentary discussion in the budget session.
However, Maalini Ramalo from the Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas Malaysia (DHRRA), said there had been no update since then.
"We hope the ministry will disclose further revisions, and that outcomes will be shared with stakeholders," she told the New Straits Times.
She said the MyKad had become a symbol of recognition and dignity, and lacking one could lead to psychological and emotional challenges.
The government's proposed amendments to the constitution regarding citizenship had been hotly debated, with civil society groups describing them as "regressive".
Previously, children born overseas would acquire citizenship automatically only if their father was Malaysian.
The bill seeks to accord the right to children born overseas to inherit their citizenship from their Malaysian mothers.
However, the bill contained provisions that received backlash, including those related to the rights of foundlings and the lowering of the age limit to apply for citizenship by registration from 21 to 18.
The Home Ministry dropped proposed amendments that would see foundlings and abandoned children denied automatic citizenship. However, some proposed amendments, such as the one on the age limit, remain.
Maalini said this could affect stateless children.
"In DHRRA's experience, children over 21 have no clear pathway to citizenship unless special approval is granted by the home minister's office."
Maalini said in early July, the Malaysian Citizenship Rights Alliance, which her organisation is a part of, submitted a proposal to the ministry.
It recommends that the ministry issue ministerial orders to expedite the citizenship application process, and that adopted foreign children be recognised as children of Malaysian parents.
Just days later, Saifuddin announced that the Conference of Rulers had approved the latest version of the bill, leaving civil society groups in the dark as to whether their proposals were adopted.