PETALING JAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s (pix) suggestion that Malaysian mothers who want their children to have Malaysian citizenship should just give birth in Malaysia has drawn the ire of mothers.
On Oct 11, he spoke on the challenges and obstacles around citizenship during an RTM TV1 episode of ‘Inklusif’.
Malaysian mothers impacted by gender-unequal citizenship laws are disappointed by what they called “the lack of understanding displayed by the Home Minister’s statements during the interview”.
Hamzah stated that if Malaysian mothers really want their children to have Malaysian citizenship, then they should just give birth in Malaysia, the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers) said today.
“This statement ignores the realities that pregnant Malaysian mothers go through overseas. There are many reasons why Malaysian women give birth overseas,” it said in a statement.
“Many in Family Frontiers’ network of Malaysian mothers have medical reasons that prevent them from travelling, including risky pregnancies, fear of miscarriage and other health-related issues. For them, it is a matter of life and death.”
Family Frontiers quoted Kavita, a Malaysian mother seeking citizenship for her daughter, as saying: “I tried my best to come back to Malaysia to give birth to my child, but due to pregnancy complications I was not allowed to fly back by two doctors. In my desperation to fly home, I was scheduled to see another doctor for a third opinion.
“On that morning, my baby was born premature and was placed in the ICU for many weeks. Women should not be told to put our lives and our babies lives at risk just to board planes and fly back to Malaysia to give birth. Our pregnancies should not be trivialised. The Home Minister must do the right thing and stop fighting Malaysian mothers.”
Family Frontiers said some had to give birth overseas due to the travel restrictions that were in place and the risk of contracting the virus during the pandemic.
“How was I meant to come home to have my baby during the pandemic? I would have been separated from my husband for years if I had made that choice,” it quoted a mother as saying.
Some would also have to separate from their older children who are non-citizens because they were also born overseas.
Many women also have employment commitments directly tied to their duty to serve Malaysia, the group pointed out.
“I worked for a Malaysian government-linked company in San Francisco between 2013 and 2018 when I had my child there. I had a high risk pregnancy and was advised not to travel in my 3rd trimester, so I had my child there. I feel betrayed by the Home Minister’s comments—I served my country at the time of my child’s birth yet my child is not a citizen and I don’t know what the future holds for her now that we are back in Malaysia,” said Gaithiri, another Malaysian mother seeking citizenship for her daughter.
Hamzah also emphasised that Malaysian citizenship is the highest award from the country, and therefore cannot be easily given to “just anybody”.
Another Malaysian mother in Family Frontiers’ network said she was hurt by the statement. “They are not just anybody, they are our children. They have Malaysian heritage and blood. Why punish my innocent children?” she asked.
The Minister’s statement also failed to explain why Malaysian fathers can automatically pass on citizenship to their children born overseas, while Malaysian mothers cannot, Family Frontiers said.
Hamzah reiterated that dual citizenship was a reason Malaysian women are not given the right to confer citizenship to their children by operation of law.
Family Frontiers said the dual citizenship argument is not applied to Malaysian men when their children are born abroad. As such, the dual citizenship argument must not be used as an excuse to perpetuate discrimination against women, it added.
It said children born overseas to Malaysian women are left with no choice but to obtain the foreign father’s citizenship.
An Emergency Travel Certificate (Surat Perakuan Cemas) is also not a readily-available option for these children to immediately return to Malaysia (without relying on a foreign passport), it added.
It pointed out that in such situations, mothers have no choice but to allow the child to take on their father’s citizenship.
Once that happens, it is held against the child when applying for Malaysian citizenship. If the child does not take on the father’s citizenship, the child risks being stateless in a foreign country, it added.
