Saifuddin said he stands by the decision reached following discussions with Suhakam as well as what the commission presented before the Conference of Rulers, which were based on the minutes of the meeting provided to him.
“I will not speak about what Suhakam (later decides to) say to the media,” he said during an engagement session with media editors at the home ministry here today.
He said that based on the minutes of Suhakam’s meeting with the rulers, it was noted that the proposed amendments must take into consideration the commission’s recommendations pertaining to rules and procedures.
“And we have complied with these recommendations,” he said.
He said if Suhakam still has issues with the proposed amendments, then it must refer to the minister’s discussion with Suhakam’s chief commissioner Hishamudin Yunus.
“The commission has many members and perhaps not all are on the same page. But we cannot be going around in circles,” he said.
In a statement on Monday, Suhakam called on Putrajaya to reconsider the removal of automatic rights to citizenship of children born in Malaysia to permanent residents.
It said any amendment to the Federal Constitution on citizenship rights “should be in the spirit of enhancing these rights and not directed toward taking away or diluting these rights”.
It also reiterated its concern that the removal of the right to automatic citizenship of children born to permanent residents would only exacerbate the problem of statelessness.
It also called for a proposed amendment granting citizenship to overseas-born children of Malaysian women to be applied retrospectively.
Separately, Saifuddin said that he had discussed the proposed amendments with the “main authorities” in Sabah and Sarawak and obtained their buy-in.
He was commenting on Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan earlier saying the state Cabinet decided that the removal of automatic citizenship for children born to Malaysian permanent residents should apply only in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on March 25. Among its provisions is one to allow 18-year-olds to apply for citizenship by registration.