Family Frontiers said the mothers it represents received the rejection letters last month and this month, but the documents stated that the decisions had been made in 2019 and 2020.
It said one of them had been following up with her application, but was told each time that it “is in process”.
“One of the mothers, Headry T, applied for her child’s citizenship in November 2015 for the second time after the first application was rejected. She was informed earlier this month that it was again rejected and that the decision was made in 2019,” the group said in a statement today.
“She had been following up regularly and checking the application status via phone, email and online, but the answer she used to get was that the application ‘is in process’.”
The NGO said another mother submitted her application in August 2015. However, when she flew in to Malaysia recently to collect a letter on the decision, she found out that the application had been rejected and that the letter was actually issued in June 2020.
The third parent, only known as Rachel, also received the rejection letter this month though it said the decision had been made in June 2020.
Family Frontiers said the delay in informing the mothers of the decision would negatively affect the children’s growth, and that Putrajaya should take this into consideration.
“It is crucial that the citizenship application process is made more efficient, with reasonable timeframes and transparent reasons for rejection,” it said.
Last August, an appellate court ruled that children born overseas to Malaysian women were not entitled to automatic citizenship as the Federal Constitution only provided for citizenship through fathers.
In a split decision in the government’s favour, the Court of Appeal ruled that the word “father” in Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution and its related provisions in the Second Schedule is “clear and unambiguous” and cannot be construed to include mothers.
Family Frontiers later filed a memorandum of appeal in the Federal Court, saying the Court of Appeal was wrong to take a “narrow” and “pedantic” approach when interpreting provisions in the constitution.
The Cabinet has since agreed to amend the Federal Constitution to enable automatic citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers.
The proposed amendment is expected to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat meeting in June.