Nancy said home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told her that the meeting will be held soon, Bernama reported.

“I spoke with (Saifuddin) this morning and he was very responsive. I received a lot of responses from NGOs, since my ministry is responsible for looking after the welfare of children.

“We still have time … I hope there will be new developments through the meeting. I want the best to protect these children,” she said.

The government has proposed to make a constitutional amendment which would strip foundlings, such as abandoned children or orphans, of their right to citizenship.

The proposal has sparked criticism, with human rights group Lawyers for Liberty labelling the amendments as “the worst since Merdeka”.

Former women, family and community development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had also urged the home ministry to reconsider the changes, saying tighter citizenship laws would not prevent children from being abandoned by their parents.

Shahrizat said the state is obliged to assume responsibility for a child when parents cannot, an obligation in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a signatory.