Statelessness isn’t the fault of the child
The fault lies with the law, and with those who have left it standing.
Hartini Zainudin is deeply upset by a Malaysian court's decision regarding a young man born in 2006 to a Malaysian father and Thai mother. The young man, born in Golok and raised in Malaysia for 20 years, has no birth certificate or nationality. Despite his father's DNA proving he is the child's biological father, the court ruled that the law must ignore his father's nationality and treat him as the son of his mother alone.
This is because Section 17 of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution reads that any reference to the father for a child born out of wedlock is read as a reference to the mother. The Federal Court confirmed this in 2021 in a similar case. Hartini believes the fault lies with the law and those who have left it unchanged.
She highlights that the majority of births going unregistered in Malaysia occur across the border, where it is easier to do so. Hartini urges for amendments to Section 17, clarifying the process for passing on citizenship, and stopping the pursuit of costs against stateless applicants. She emphasizes that this young man did not choose his circumstances and carries the consequences for life.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
