The woman, who is married to a Malaysian man, filed a leave application through her solicitors, Srimurugan & Co, two days ago.
Under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, the application must demonstrate novel constitutional or legal questions of public importance, raised for the first time.
Lawyer A Srimurugan said he has framed five legal questions to secure a hearing of the appeal by the apex court.
One key question is whether a requirement for parents to undergo DNA testing will violate their right to privacy under Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Another asks whether the welfare and interests of a child should take precedence when interpreting citizenship provisions under the Second Schedule, Part II, Section 1(a) of the Federal Constitution.
The other three questions are:
- whether the presumption of legitimacy under Section 112 of the Evidence Act 1950 can establish “jus sanguinis” (right of blood) citizenship;
- whether the word “parent” in the constitution’s citizenship provisions includes both biological and presumed parents; and
- whether the same provision should be interpreted with less rigidity and greater generosity.
On Nov 29, a three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Justice Azizah Nawawi dismissed the woman’s appeal, citing doubts about the teenager’s paternity.
“The mother failed to prove that her son is a citizen under Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution, read with Section 1(a) of the Second Schedule,” she said, referring to the constitutional provisions’ citizenship requirements.
The law requires that either the boy’s mother or father be a Malaysian or permanent resident for him to qualify for citizenship.
The other judges who sat with Azizah were Justices Nazlan Ghazali and Azhahari Kamal Ramli.
The woman married a Malaysian man in 2000 and had two sons, in 2004 and 2010.
The younger boy applied for a MyKad at age 12, but his case was referred for investigation on grounds that he did not bear any physical resemblance to the Malaysian man.
The man told national registration department (JPN) officers that the teenager was not his biological child but deemed a DNA test unnecessary.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
The Indonesian woman then commenced a lawsuit seeking a declaration that the teenager is a Malaysian citizen by operation of law, as well as an order compelling JPN to issue him a MyKad.