Remember the whole Malaysian-women-can’t-pass-down-their-citizenship-rights-if-they-give-birth-abroad that I talked about in my blog a few times? It would appear that after much boohooha (not caused by me, I must clarify), the Home Ministry has decided to look into the matter.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for it though. The Malaysian government is notorious for making promises and not living up to it (as reliable as diet pills that work – is there such a thing?) OR taking forever to live up to their promises – am still waiting for that PR issue to be rectified and solved. And it doesn’t come without any strings attached either. Are you surprised?
“Several conditions will have to be met before citizenship can be granted. One of them is that both parents must jointly submit the application in order to avoid disputes over the child’s rightful citizenship.
“Both parents will have to appear in person before the consulate officer to make the application and the forms must be submitted within a year of the child’s birth.
“Successful applicants must also present themselves and the child in person at the National Registration Department headquarters here to apply for the citizenship certificate and MyKid,” he said.
The full report is available here.
One friend did remarked that after all my complaints, I can now register my daughter. Well, I was never complaining because of that – just to register Eva as a citizen. My purpose behind the complaint is to get the government to realize that their female citizens are just as important as their male citizens, that we too contribute politically/economically/socially to the well-being and growth of this country and that we are still being marginalized in this day and age. I brought this to the attention of many people not because I want something for myself but because there are women in this situation out there who WANT Malaysian citizenship for their children but are unable to get it because of a sexist clause in an outdated constitution.
It may not be much – if she were a citizen, Eva would still be marginalized because she’s not a Bumi and that has an impact on just about everything, from education to a job – but at least it is a step in the right direction…or does it just look like it is?
Who knows…I guess only time will tell.