Foreign spouses do not automatically qualify as Bumiputera, says Saifuddin
FOREIGN Muslims who marry Malaysians of Malay descent do not automatically become Malay or acquire Bumiputera status, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said. In a written parliamentary reply, Saifuddin said the National Registration ...
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail clarified that foreign spouses of Malaysian Malays do not automatically gain Malay or Bumiputera status, despite marrying Malaysians of Malay descent. In a written parliamentary response, Saifuddin stated that the National Registration Department (JPN) does not classify foreign spouses as Malay based solely on the marriage.
Bumiputera eligibility, including privileges reserved for the community, falls outside JPN's jurisdiction, he emphasized. The determination of Bumiputera status requires compliance with laws, policies, and conditions set by relevant authorities, Saifuddin clarified. Responding to a question from Pang Hok Liong (PH-Labis), Saifuddin also explained that children born from a legally recognized marriage between a foreign Muslim and a Malaysian of Malay descent could be registered under either parent's ethnicity.
The parents have the discretion to register the child as Malay or under the foreign parent's ethnicity, as per the applicable registration requirements. However, this option pertains to the child's registration process and does not alter the foreign parent's ethnicity or grant them Bumiputera status automatically.
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