Family Frontiers: Putrajaya’s appeal of citizenship ruling ‘baffling’

[superadmin]

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Welfare association Family Frontiers has challenged the government’s reason for continuing its appeal against the High Court decision granting automatic citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian mothers with foreign spouses.

In a statement today, Family Frontiers said it was deeply disappointed by the government's move, which was announced by Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin yesterday, and called it “baffling”.

“The government continues to take a stance that its women citizens are second-class citizens; by continuing to appeal, the government sends a message that it is in favour of continued discrimination and marginalisation of Malaysian mothers and their non-citizen children,” it said.

Yesterday, Hamzah said that in making its decision, the Cabinet had considered the existence of two different court case judgments regarding the interpretation of the term “father” in the Second Schedule Part II Section 1(b) and 1© of the Federal Constitution.


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