

Boundless Horizons|Lee Sok Wah: Whose Fault Is It When Laws Are Ignored?
In Ms. Alice Lee’s previous column, she mentioned cases where children could not automatically become Malaysian citizens because their Malaysian fathers did not register their marriages with the children’s foreign mothers in time. When these mothers leave Malaysia or pass away after giving birth, it further complicates the children’s citizenship applications. Who should bear the greatest responsibility in such cases?
In handling these cases, Ms. Alice Lee found that some Malaysian men were unable to finalize divorces from previous marriages before having children with foreign girlfriends. Consequently, these children must follow their mothers’ nationality due to the delayed registration of the marriage. Often, subsequent children born after the marriage registration become Malaysian citizens, while the ones born before do not. She doesn’t understand why the government makes it difficult for such parents and children. Many have been applying for citizenship for years, only to be rejected without reason. Is this just to punish Malaysian fathers and foreign mothers for not marrying before the child’s birth? If so, who will take care of these children without Malaysian citizenship? Should they be sent to live alone in their mothers’ home countries? Even if the foreign mother is untraceable, a child with a Malaysian father is still treated as stateless?
COVID-19 Created Many Injustices
In handling citizenship cases, Ms. Alice Lee was shocked to learn that some Malaysian men did not know that children born to foreign women must have registered marriages before birth to automatically become Malaysian citizens. Many thought that listing themselves as the father on the birth certificate would suffice. This ignorance has caused significant harm to the children. For example, a Malaysian father discovered his child was classified as a non-citizen when enrolling in primary school. Non-citizen children must obtain a permit from the state education department and pay foreign student fees to attend local schools. This father already had two children by this time. Even though he registered his marriage later, it’s uncertain how long it will take for his children to obtain Malaysian citizenship. Had he known the importance of registering the marriage, he would not have made this mistake.
Non-citizen children also face healthcare challenges, as they do not qualify for local healthcare benefits and are treated as foreigners in government hospitals, incurring significant costs for low-income families. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to many cases where marriages couldn’t be registered before the birth of a child. Government departments responsible for marriage registration were closed. Where were these couples supposed to register their marriages?
Ms. Alice Lee believes that children’s citizenship applications during the pandemic should be handled with special consideration. In this era of advanced transportation, international marriages are becoming increasingly common. It is urgent to educate our male citizens on how to ensure their children with foreign spouses become Malaysian citizens. Newspapers, social media, and community organizations can play vital roles in raising public awareness. The government should also handle these children’s citizenship applications humanely.