Mas Ermieyati (PN-Masjid Tanah) congratulated activists who have been advocating equal rights for Malaysian mothers.
She told the Dewan Rakyat today that she had led a delegation which met then law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when they were both in the government.
At the time Wan Junaidi expressed his own commitment to the amendment, she said.
Apart from Wan Junaidi, the issue was also discussed with Hamzah Zainudin, Saifuddin Abdullah and Hishammuddin Hussein, who previously helmed the home, foreign and defence ministries, respectively, she added.
“The previous government did the groundwork for this (proposed amendment) through our research.
“We also communicated with Istana Negara on the matter,” she said.
“Today’s government just had to decide on the matter. What does this mean? We did all the work. So wasn’t it easy for the (current) government? They just had to make a decision.”
Led by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the previous government, which was in power from August 2021 to November 2022, included several ministers from Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Mas Ermieyati said that as a matter of principle, PN had the same stance on the issue of citizenship rights as the current government, stressing that “there can be no discrimination”.
“The Federal Constitution has to be amended, and the relevant rules and regulations have to be improved and harmonised,” she said.
“If we did not agree to this, there is no way we would have included this in PN’s manifesto.”
In its manifesto for the 15th general election (GE15), PN said it would finalise a study on proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution aimed at granting citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.
On Saturday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said announced that the Cabinet had agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to give the proposal legal force.
The amendment is expected to be tabled in the current Dewan Rakyat meeting after all legal requirements are fulfilled.
As it stands, children born overseas to Malaysian women are not entitled to automatic citizenship as the Federal Constitution only provides for citizenship through their fathers.