KUCHING: Individuals who wish to submit an application for citizenship status under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution for those under the age of 21 should ensure that complete documentation is provided.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said it was important to ensure that the application form along with its attached documents were complete in order to facilitate the process and save time.
“Documentation must be complete, which can prove their presence and residency in Malaysia. This can be shown with the child’s school record, health record, community involvement, and so on. It shows that they have been here for such duration,” she said.
She said this during a press conference following a presentation ceremony of citizenship application result letters at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar here on Friday (Oct 22).
With regard to men who wished to marry foreign women, she emphasised that they must ensure that their marriage undergoes an orderly process with valid documentation.
“Otherwise, if there is no valid document, then they would be considered an unmarried couple as there is no document to show that they are married.
“In this case, the problem arises when their child is born as the child will inherit his or her mother’s citizenship. But if they are married in an orderly manner and all the documents are in order, the child will become a citizen (of Malaysia),” she explained.
As for cases of adoption, Fatimah said proper and complete documents would also be required showing guardianship.
“If people want to adopt a child, they must make sure that it is done in an orderly manner. The information of the birth parents of the child must be complete,” she said.
Elaborating on the second meeting of the year for the Special Committee on Citizenship Status under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution which was held before the press conference, she said 145 applications had been discussed.
She said the meeting and the committee were chaired by herself as well as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs I Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said.
“We held a simple ceremony to present letters of approval for applications to become Malaysian citizens. Eight of the applicants from around the Kuching area were able to attend. As for the others who are outside Kuching, we will send the letters to them,” she said.
She also said the committee wanted to ensure that the application process could be expedited in terms of coming to a decision, be it approval or rejection.
“The function of this committee is to look into each application without prejudice. It is very professionally done.
“Then, the committee’s proposals are brought to the next level which is the Home Minister; he has the authority to approve these applications,” said Fatimah.
