197. How many are ILLEGAL sabahans?

Who qualify to be Malaysians?

Letter to the editor of Daily Express dated 8^th  of December, 2013 page 19

Citizens by operation of law

I refer to Citizenship not a right but privilege citing Jainasah Mohd Noor of the National registration department.

The writer says :  “For the readers’ information, the assumption that every person born in Malaysia and holding a Malaysian birth certificate is automatically a Malaysian citizen is incorrect; a child’s citizenship status and their citizenship status at the time of the birth.”

The above statement is misleading. As a former Registrar of Citizens at the National Registration Department headquarters in Petaling  Jaya from 1969 – 1975, I wish to clarify the law pertaining to citizenship by operation of law, for general information.  The Federal Constitution  came into force on Merdeka Day, Aug 31, 1957.  The provisions relating to Malaysian citizenship are contained in Articles 14-31 of the Federal Constitution.

Article 14 of the Constitution relates to citizenship by operation of law. Since this article has been amended by the Constitution (Amendment) Act of 1962 and the Malaysian Act of 1963, it is necessary to apply the law in force at different  periods i.e. (a) between Aug 31, 1957 and sept 30, 1962; (b) Oct 1., 1962 and Sept 15, 1963 ; and (c) Sept 16, 1963 (Malaysia Day) to date.

The original Article 14 (1) embodied the principle of jus soli.  Every person born within the Federation on or after Merdeka Day becomes a citizen by operation of law.

It does not matter whether the parents were citizens, permanent residents or visitors.  As long as the child was born within the Federation, he became a citizen by operation of law.

The Constitution (Amendment ( Act 1962 which modified the principle of jus soli came into force on Oct 1, 1962.  Under the amended Article 14 (1) (b) every person  born within the Federation on or after Oct 1, 1962 and before Sept 15, 1963 becomes a citizen by operation of law, if at the time of the birth at least one of the parents is a citizen or permanently resident in the Federation.

From the foregoing it is clear that to determine the citizenship status of a child, the criteria is (a) the child must be born in Malaysia and (b) one of the parents must be a citizen or permanently resident in the Federation.

It is not even necessary for the parents to be citizens, only one of them must be permanently resident  in the Federation.

“Permanently resident” is defined as a person who permission, granted without limit of time under any Federal law, to reside in the Federation.

For practical purposes it can be taken to mean a holder of an identity card.

S.  Sundareson.