KUALA LUMPUR: PKR students' wing vice-chief Yap Xiang has quit the party over disappointment with the constitutional amendments on citizenship.
In a post on X yesterday, Yap claimed that engagement sessions that the government had with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) appeared to be just a formality to meet requirements.
He said a genuine engagement session involved government officials listening to proposals from NGOs.
"The majority present at the engagement session I was invited to were far-right individuals supporting the oppressive amendment (including denying citizenship rights to abandoned infants).
"They filled the question and answer session to the point where I had no opportunity to ask any questions.
"I even tried my best to pose questions during and after the engagement session with the Home Ministry and National Registration Department officers," he said.
Yap said he received "foolish" responses, such as: "There are no more stateless Orang Asli; only migrants pretending to be stateless."
"But the important point is that this so-called 'engagement' session was not meant to hear the suggestions of NGOs.
"It was held to fulfil the criteria of, 'Oh, we've done our work'," he said.
Yesterday, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 on citizenship was passed in the Dewan Rakyat with a two-thirds majority.
The amendments include Article 15(1)(c), requiring foreign women married to Malaysian men who apply for citizenship to have adequate knowledge of Malay.
An amendment to Article 15A brought the age limit for citizenship applications down from 21 to 18.