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KULIM, Malaysia — The Home Ministry will reveal the effective date for amending citizenship rules governing children born abroad to Malaysian mothers after completing all necessary preparations, announced Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The preparations encompass documentation, citizenship regulations, and an online application system, which will involve Malaysia's diplomatic missions globally.

The Home Minister stated that the date had been approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the Ministry would declare it once several administrative matters were finalized.

Saifuddin assured that the preparations, including relevant documents and citizenship regulations, have been finalized, and the Attorney General’s Chambers has given confirmation. The ministry has also set up an online application system, which will be crucial for the implementation as it involves Malaysian representative offices worldwide.

The Home Minister explained that the implementation of the amendments would significantly benefit Malaysian women or mothers who have been waiting for their children born overseas to acquire citizenship. Currently, out of approximately 50,000 outstanding citizenship applications, around 7,000 involve children born abroad to Malaysian mothers. Of these 7,000, only a few hundred remain undecided as the ministry continues to process the older applications while awaiting the amendments' implementation.

Once the amendments come into effect and new applications are accepted, those under the relevant category will be processed according to the new rules. Additionally, Saifuddin stated that KDN is actively working to resolve the remaining 4,121 citizenship applications out of the original 50,000, with a goal of deciding on all applications this year. The four primary categories with the highest number of applications are under Article 15A, Article 15(2), Article 19(1), and Article 30(1) of the Federal Constitution.