Kasthuri Patto says media coverage intensified after Pakatan Harapan was forced out of government.
PETALING JAYA: An MP from DAP has explained why the citizenship problems of overseas-born children did not receive priority from Pakatan Harapan when it formed the previous government.
Kasthuri Patto, MP for Batu Kawan, who has been vocal about the issue, said there were not many such cases when the coalition was in office from 2018 to 2020 and the matter did not attract much publicity.
Media coverage of the issue only intensified after PH was forced out of government, she said.
“Today, it is prime time news, everybody is talking about it. However, two to three years ago, it wasn’t (talked about).
“I think the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented mothers (from returning) to deliver their babies, heightened the conversation on citizenship for children born overseas (to Malaysian mothers).”
Kasthuri said at the time the PH administration was focused on certain other amendments to the Federal Constitution and related laws with regard to citizenship.
“I think it was something that we should have worked on when PH was in government, but the to-do list just kept getting longer,” she told FMT in an interview.
Kasthuri said she was confident law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar would champion this issue in Parliament, as he had been sufficiently proactive in keeping MPs updated on the matter.
Nonetheless, she said the workings of a committee set up in November 2021 to study proposed amendments relevant to the issue have yet to be revealed.
The committee had been expected to present its findings within six months of its establishment, she said.
“We don’t know who sits in the committee, we don’t know the outcome of the study, nor what research was done by the committee. Parliament has not been updated about it yet.
“We don’t know if Istana Negara has been updated yet,” she said.
The Conference of Rulers had concurred with the formation of the committee in November 2021 after the High Court held that citizenship could be derived from mothers as well as fathers.
However, the High Court decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal last month, which held that the constitution provided only for citizenship through fathers, and it was up to Parliament to change the law.
30% female representation
Meanwhile, Kasthuri said it was time to explore how the public services commission and public services department could achieve 30% female representation in the government service.
Noting that there was a lack of clarity on the processes involved, she questioned if the quota only applied to new intakes or whether it also encompassed promotions for women and members of the special needs community.
“Of course, it’s all debatable. You are promoted based on merit,” she said, noting also that presently more women enter into university and graduate compared to men.
PETALING JAYA: An MP from DAP has explained why the citizenship problems of overseas-born children did not receive priority from Pakatan Harapan when it formed the previous government.
Kasthuri Patto, MP for Batu Kawan, who has been vocal about the issue, said there were not many such cases when the coalition was in office from 2018 to 2020 and the matter did not attract much publicity.
Media coverage of the issue only intensified after PH was forced out of government, she said.
“Today, it is prime time news, everybody is talking about it. However, two to three years ago, it wasn’t (talked about).
“I think the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented mothers (from returning) to deliver their babies, heightened the conversation on citizenship for children born overseas (to Malaysian mothers).”
Kasthuri said at the time the PH administration was focused on certain other amendments to the Federal Constitution and related laws with regard to citizenship.
“I think it was something that we should have worked on when PH was in government, but the to-do list just kept getting longer,” she told FMT in an interview.
Kasthuri said she was confident law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar would champion this issue in Parliament, as he had been sufficiently proactive in keeping MPs updated on the matter.
Nonetheless, she said the workings of a committee set up in November 2021 to study proposed amendments relevant to the issue have yet to be revealed.
The committee had been expected to present its findings within six months of its establishment, she said.
“We don’t know who sits in the committee, we don’t know the outcome of the study, nor what research was done by the committee. Parliament has not been updated about it yet.
“We don’t know if Istana Negara has been updated yet,” she said.
The Conference of Rulers had concurred with the formation of the committee in November 2021 after the High Court held that citizenship could be derived from mothers as well as fathers.
However, the High Court decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal last month, which held that the constitution provided only for citizenship through fathers, and it was up to Parliament to change the law.
30% female representation
Meanwhile, Kasthuri said it was time to explore how the public services commission and public services department could achieve 30% female representation in the government service.
Noting that there was a lack of clarity on the processes involved, she questioned if the quota only applied to new intakes or whether it also encompassed promotions for women and members of the special needs community.
“Of course, it’s all debatable. You are promoted based on merit,” she said, noting also that presently more women enter into university and graduate compared to men.
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