IPOH: The High Court here today granted citizenship to a six-year-old girl born to a Malaysian father and a Chinese national.
Judge Abdul Wahab Mohamed said “the stateless child qualifies to be a Malaysian by operation of law under Article 14 (1) (b),” as this later was born in Ipoh and has no other nationality.
He added, it was clear the child was born in Malaysia. Therefore, the child must be given citizenship.
Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 that aims to protect children from being made stateless.
The girl, who was stated as non-Malaysian or illegitimate, was not granted citizenship as her parents were not married at the time. The parents registered their marriage legally at JPN in Putrajaya only three months after the child was born and have been applying for her citizenship since 2017.
The parents filed an originating summons in December 2019 after the home ministry ignored their applications.
