Govt Fails to Strike Out Malaysian Mothers’ Lawsuit Seeking Citizenship for Their Overseas-Born Children, Court Asks for Justification of Discrimination

The Malaysian government today failed in its bid to have the courts throw out a lawsuit by several Malaysian mothers who want their children born abroad to automatically be Malaysian citizens.

High Court judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir today dismissed the government’s application to strike out the lawsuit, rejecting the government’s argument that the court case was frivolous.

The lawyers holding watching brief today in this lawsuit are Mohd Ridhuan Md Kamal for the Malaysian Bar, and Jasmine Wong — who is acting for a client in a similar court case — for the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, and Voice of the Children.

The Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights is housed at the Women’s Refugee Commission.