15 September 2021

Press statement by Wanita MCA National Chairperson Datuk Heng Seai Kie

Equal citizenship conferment rights for Malaysian female and male citizens unto children born abroad is in line with the spirit of the Federal Constitution

Heng to AG : Please withdraw decision to  appeal High Court ruling on citizenship conferment

Wanita MCA urges the Attorney General’s Chambers to uphold the spirit of gender equality as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and withdraw the appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling that Malaysian women with non-Malaysian husbands are entitled to the same citizenship conferment rights unto their children born abroad.

The landmark decision by the High Court a few days ago is in line with the spirit of non-discrimination on the grounds of gender as stated in Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution. As Malaysian citizens, both men and women must be treated equally and enjoy the same rights. This includes the right on citizenship conferment by Malaysian mothers who give birth to children overseas.  There must not be any differentiation in treatment against Malaysian women simply due to gender differences.

This discrimination against Malaysian mothers on citizenship conferment violates the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which Malaysia became a signatory to in 1995.

Once again, Wanita MCA wishes to highlight that more than 150 countries in the world have amended their laws to ensure gender equality where male and female citizens enjoy the same rights on citizenship conferment unto their children.

Unfortunately, Malaysia is one of only 25 countries that have yet to amend legislation that clearly outlaws discrimination against mothers or its own citizens who are women.

My question is, if Malaysia is still to retain this obsolete mentality that permits gender discrimination, how are we to progress as a developed country to compete against other countries in the international arena?

In this regard, we would like to urge the AG’s Chambers to heed public opinion and uphold the High Court’s judgement and forego appealing this case. Additionally, the government must also start to enact or amend the relevant legislations as early as possible to fully implement gender empowerment reforms to demonstrate Malaysia's sincerity and determination to promote gender equality ie equal rights for men and women!

Datuk Heng Seai Kie
Wanita MCA National Chairperson

-MCA online-