PETALING JAYA: The removal of any rights accorded to children in the Federal Constitution will be a step backwards for Malaysia, says G25.
The group, which comprises senior and eminent former civil servants, said it supported the call from child activist and co-founder of Yayasan Chow Kit, Datuk Dr Hartini Zainudin, against the proposed amendments to Article 14 (1) (b) of the Federal Constitution, particularly the removal of Section 1(e) of Part II in the Second Schedule.
“The provision grants citizenship to children born in Malaysia who do not have citizenship elsewhere.
“It provides protection to children, through no fault of their own, who were born in the country but who do not have any proper documentation of their birth, such as foundlings - those who were abandoned - and those born out of wedlock or to stateless parents,” the group said in a statement.
The group said the country cannot take away the rights from its most vulnerable of members.
“It is an injustice which should not even be considered as it further marginalises children born in the country who are already at a social and economic disadvantage,” it added.
The group said as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and as a country which has affirmed its commitment towards achieving its targeted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the removal of any rights accorded to children would be a step backwards in Malaysia’s aim to becoming a progressive nation which upholds the rights of its people, especially its children.
The group calls on the government and politicians not to support the proposed amendments to Article 14(1)(b), particularly the removal of the Section 1(e) of Part II in the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution as there is no justification for the removal of this provision.
“We call on our Prime Minister to uphold his concept of Malaysia Madani for our country, where the ‘i’ in Madani stands for Ihsan or care and compassion.
“We cannot claim to provide care and be compassionate if we deny children, who are our most vulnerable, the rights that they and any child, no matter their circumstance, deserves,” the group said, adding that the Malaysia Madani concept will not succeed if it fails to protect the children.
The group also voiced its concerns about the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution regarding the citizenship of children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.
It said children born abroad to Malaysian fathers are given automatic citizenship, while children born abroad to Malaysian mothers are not.
It said this is unjustified and urged the government to rectify this wrongful discrimination against women and their children without further delay.
