PUTRAJAYA: The home minister wants the debate on amendments to citizenship provisions to be given priority in the Dewan Rakyat sitting that begins on Oct 14.
"At the last Dewan Rakyat session, I completed the second reading but the session was adjourned for other matters. We hope that we will secure a place on the agenda in the upcoming session. This is a priority for the Home Ministry," Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told a press conference after the Home Ministry's monthly assembly.
The amendments that were first proposed involved removing sections 1(e) and 2(3) of the Second Schedule, Part II of the Federal Constitution; removing the right of foundlings, including abandoned children, to citizenship by operation of law under Section 19B of the Second Schedule in Part III of the Constitution; and removing the words "permanent resident" in Section 1(a) of the Second Schedule in Part II of the Constitution.
However, these changes faced backlash from human rights and women groups, which labelled them as regressive.
Saifuddin would later announce that two amendments would be dropped.
They involve Section 19B of the Second Schedule and Section 1(e) of the Second Schedule.
Currently, a child born overseas would acquire citizenship automatically only if the father is a Malaysian citizen. The amendment bill seeks to expand this right to children born to Malaysian mothers.