KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — The Malaysian authorities’s plans to carry “regressive” amendments to the nation’s citizenship legal guidelines to Parliament means locally-born kids would have their present rights to mechanically be residents taken away, and can as a substitute lead to “Little Napoleons” having the power to decide if they need to be registered as Malaysians, a lawyer has cautioned.
Sharmila Sekaran, who additionally chairs the kid rights advocacy group Voice of the Children, mentioned the deliberate regressive amendments to the Federal Constitution embrace a proposed transfer to change “citizenship by operation of legislation” to “citizenship by registration” for sure classes.
In different phrases, as a substitute of being mechanically eligible beneath the legislation to be a Malaysian when a little one is born right here and fulfils the citizenship circumstances, the federal government will be the one deciding if the kid ought to be registered as a Malaysian citizen.
“Which means a Little Napoleon sat within the Home Ministry gets to decide whether or not that little one goes to be given citizenship, so it’s taken out of the palms of legislation, and put into the palms of unseen faces. Because we don’t know who these persons are, who are approving or not approving,” she mentioned as a panellist of a panel dialogue over the weekend.
While the Federal Constitution places the power within the palms of the house minister, Sharmila claims that the fact is that ministers observe the bidding of civil servants.
“And that’s what we’re actually involved about by way of these proposed amendments, as a result of not will kids like ‘Abang’ and ‘Adik’ and a complete host of kids like that be in a position to purchase citizenship mechanically, when every little thing factors to them being Malaysian and deserving of Malaysian citizenship,” she mentioned, referring to two characters within the movie Abang Adik who are stateless regardless of being born in Malaysia.
Sharmila was explaining the federal government’s plans to tack on regressive citizenship amendments and to bundle them collectively in a single single bundle with a deliberate progressive constitutional modification to allow Malaysian moms to go on their citizenship to their overseas-born kids (identical to Malaysian fathers are at the moment in a position to do).
Sharmila mentioned the regressive amendments would make it even tougher for stateless kids to be recognised as residents.
People attend the particular screening of ‘Abang Adik’ movie at Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya January 21, 2024. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
She additionally claimed the regressive amendments lined areas which the Home Ministry is unfamiliar with by way of the realities on the bottom, saying that the Home Ministry ought to then not try to make amendments — seen as regressive — to these citizenship provisions within the Federal Constitution with out first finishing up additional research and work on gathering knowledge on statelessness.
She additionally advised that a number of the regressive citizenship amendments are being “rushed via” to try to deal with the Sabah scenario, particularly “Project IC” the place people had been allegedly given Malaysian citizenship within the Nineteen Nineties to guarantee they might vote for the federal government of the day, however mentioned that these proposed amendments are pointless because the Malaysian authorities or Sabah itself can use various options.
“The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has finished a research which they launched early final 12 months detailing how Project IC occurred, the place the gaps had been, what the problems had been, that may be addressed individually via various measures.
“Quite a lot of these points can be addressed via procedural method inside the ministry via insurance policies and commonplace working procedures (SOPs), in addition to arising with a very sound statelessness willpower process, which is what the Philippines and Indonesia have finished, so you recognize, there are different measures,” she mentioned.
“MA63 (The Malaysia Agreement 1963) has allowed each Sabah and Sarawak to reserve citizenship of the state and immigration into the state unto themselves, so Sabah and Sarawak may utilise issues beneath MA63 to their profit. So you recognize there are alternate options which we are able to provide you with by way of course of and procedures with no need a constitutional modification,” she mentioned.
Suriani Kempe, president of Family Frontiers and the moderator of the panel dialogue, mentioned that the federal government can select to cut up the progressive modification for Malaysian moms and the regressive amendments as a substitute of placing them in a single Bill to be voted on in Parliament.
“So this concept that you’ve got to vote on a dangerous piece of laws is definitely a manufactured drawback, this drawback doesn’t have to be that means, there may be a means out,” she mentioned, saying that the federal government can proceed with the progressive modification and additional research the necessity for regressive amendments.
Suriani mentioned the bundled amendments are akin to “buying and selling rights” the place the federal government would give Malaysian moms their rights in trade for taking away present citizenship rights belonging to kids, together with deserted infants born in Malaysia.
“And as president of Family Frontiers, I can say, though we now have been working for this modification for the final 20 years for Malaysian moms to have equal rights, we is not going to do it on the backs of weak kids, not in our title,” she mentioned.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad speaks in the course of the particular screening of ‘Abang Adik’ movie at Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya January 21, 2024. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who was current on the panel dialogue as a member of the viewers, briefly responded to questions from the viewers that had been directed to him.
“I feel they’re very legitimate questions, however in fact I imply, I’m a part of the Cabinet, I’ve collective accountability, all that I can say is that I’ve introduced up — I imply, not simply me — many members of the Cabinet, we now have deliberated lengthy and much on this matter with regards to the modification. “We actually wished to realise the modification with regards to the Family Frontiers case and we’re additionally conscious of the opposite points which are being raised, however I can’t go additional as a result of I can’t converse for my Cabinet colleagues.
“But all that I can say is all these points which have been introduced up, I feel for the one 12 months for the reason that minister has introduced this matter, and we are attempting our greatest to give essentially the most progressive modification as doable with regards to this matter as a result of I feel that’s the want of the federal government in precept,” he mentioned.
Wong Kueng Hui, a former stateless little one born in Malaysia to a Malaysian father and non-Malaysian mom and who solely obtained his Malaysian identification card final 12 months after 16 years of making use of and preventing within the courts, had as a member of the viewers requested three questions of Nik Nazmi, particularly his views on the house minister’s proposed citizenship amendments and the way it might be permitted within the Cabinet and what are the federal authorities’s ensures in finishing up reforms for stateless points in Malaysia.
At the identical panel dialogue, panellist Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Datuk Hartini Zainudin objected to the regressive amendments, stating: “If we enable the regressive amendments to undergo, we are going to be the one nation on the earth that truly takes the rights of kids away within the final 10 years. Just keep in mind that — the one nation on the earth.”
Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Datuk Hartini Zainudin speaks in the course of the particular screening of ‘Abang Adik’ movie at Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya January 21, 2024. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Hartini, who can be a little one rights activist, defined the three totally different classes of weak individuals which are usually confused collectively, particularly refugees who often have passports and are fleeing their nation, migrants who even have passports who could be later undocumented reminiscent of when their visas expire or different points associated to their employers occur, and stateless individuals.
Hartini zoomed in on stateless kids, reminiscent of deserted infants born in Malaysia whose mother and father are unknown and who haven’t any authorized identification and no paperwork, noting that such foundlings could have a likelihood of being issued a beginning certificates if they’re discovered by the Social Welfare Department (JKM) however would face difficulties even getting a beginning certificates in the event that they had been discovered by non-governmental organisations or by variety strangers or good Samaritans.
She mentioned even deserted infants discovered by the JKM would have a arduous time making use of for Malaysian citizenship from the Home Ministry.
“The assumption that stateless individuals are foreigners is a full fable. Almost all of the classes of childhood statelessness and foundlings are born on this nation, they by no means left, there isn’t a nationwide safety risk. Because once you say it’s a nationwide safety risk, the idea is that they’re outdoors the nation coming in, they aren’t,” she mentioned.
She mentioned such stateless kids who haven’t any authorized identification and with out citizenship can not go to faculty, can not have entry to healthcare providers, and are unable to do issues reminiscent of having a checking account and likewise can not depart Malaysia.
“There is a deliberate narrative on this nation to muddy the waters and say that migrants are the identical as refugees, identical as undocumented, identical as stateless, they’re all foreigners. They are usually not, please allow us to make that distinction.
“Stateless individuals for all intents and functions are inside the nation, they by no means left, they’re born on this nation and can die on this nation, whether or not you select to acknowledge them or attempt to wave a magic wand and make the numbers disappear, they’re nonetheless right here,” Hartini mentioned.
(From proper) Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek, Buku Jalanan Chow Kit co-founder Siti Rahayu Baharin, Voice of the Children chairman Sharmila Sekaran, and Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Datuk Hartini Zainudin in the course of the particular screening of ‘Abang Adik’ movie at Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya January 21, 2024. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Fellow panellist Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek mentioned bureaucratic hurdles make it tough for individuals who are stateless to get Malaysian citizenship though they’re at the moment entitled to it beneath the legislation, reminiscent of with necessities to produce paperwork which they haven’t any entry to.
Some of those people could have obtained the improper recommendation or typically quit on the entire means of being recognised as a Malaysian, and would stay stateless individuals for many years from their childhood to their maturity and would have “no future” with out entry to training and medical providers, the lawyer mentioned.
“So primarily statelessness is a drawback with individuals who wouldn’t have citizenship of some other nation, they don’t have figuring out paperwork from Malaysia or some other nation. And what’s vital is due to the dearth of paperwork, they don’t have any rights, on paper they aren’t a individual, they’re mainly a ghost,” he mentioned, including that missing documentation additionally brings the risk of exploitation and concern of being taken away by legislation enforcement officers.
Zaid mentioned the proposed regressive amendments would take away the prevailing options to statelessness within the Federal Constitution, urging for the general public to push their MPs to forestall these amendments from being handed in Parliament.
Fellow panellist Buku Jalanan Chow Kit co-founder Siti Rahayu Baharin highlighted the April 22, 1999 fatwa issued by the Muzakarah of the Fatwa Committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs, the place it acknowledged that each infants and kids discovered deserted at anyplace in Malaysia are categorised as “anak jagaan negara” (ward of the state or coming beneath the federal government’s care) and can mechanically be Muslims.
But Siti Rahayu mentioned the regressive amendments — one which would come with eradicating computerized citizenship recognition for deserted infants and solely enable citizenship by registration for them — would make such kids turn out to be neglected though the fatwa had mentioned they might be “anak jagaan negara”.
She burdened that these regressive amendments have an effect on these who had been born in Malaysia and who will develop up and die within the nation and who solely have this nation and can’t go anyplace and who ought to be recognised as Malaysians, stressing that they aren’t refugees or foreigners.
Buku Jalanan Chow Kit co-founder Siti Rahayu Baharin speaks the particular screening of ‘Abang Adik’ movie at Starling Mall, Petaling Jaya January 21, 2024. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
The panel dialogue with the 4 audio system from civil society was held after a screening on Sunday of the award-winning film Abang Adik, which was organised by the United Nations’ (UN) International Organisation for Migration along with the Malaysian Citizenship Rights Alliance (MCRA).
Prior to the panel dialogue, the movie’s director Jin Ong attended a transient question-and-answer session with the viewers.
The screening on the Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) at The Starling Mall was attended by greater than 300 individuals, together with representatives from the Australian High Commission, embassies of the Netherlands, Hungary, Singapore and Tajikistan, and the UN Resident Coordinator.
After the panel dialogue, the MCRA launched its on-line petition titled “Malaysian MPs should reject Citizenship Amendments threatening weak kids” on the platform Change.org to oppose the regressive amendments.
At the time of writing, greater than 790 people have signed in help of the petition addressed to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and MPs within the Dewan Rakyat.
The MCRA, which is fashioned of civil society teams, activists and impacted individuals engaged on statelessness and citizenship rights, consists of the organisations Family Frontiers; Yayasan Chow Kit; Buku Jalanan Chow Kit; Voice of Children; Stateless Malaysians Citizenship Movement; Little Yellow Flower Foundation and Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA) Malaysia.
Read right here for eNews Malaysia’s transient abstract of the 5 proposed regressive amendments and their impact.
