Real-life Abang Adiks are potentially in grave danger, as the government of Malaysia looks to make a bundle of highly regressive and immoral amendments to our citizenship laws. These amendments will perpetuate statelessness among children, condemning them to a life without identity, access to education, healthcare, job opportunities and more. 

We must stress that one out of these proposed amendments is a step in the right direction. There are aspects of Malaysia’s citizenship laws that are highly sexist and discriminatory towards women as the Federal Constitution only grants automatic Malaysian citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian men with foreign wives, but not Malaysian women with foreign husbands. After years of advocacy by civil society groups, such as Family Frontiers, the government has been successfully pressured to make the changes. 

But instead of just making this one change, the Home Ministry under the stewardship of Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution has decided to make one positive step forward, five cruel steps backwards. 

We speak to Prof Datuk Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, Commissioner, Suhakam.

Image credit: Abang Adik, movie

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