If football players can get citizenship flexibility, why can't stateless children with Malaysian ties?

DHRRA Malaysia notes with great concern the 19 September statement by National Registration Department director general Badrul Hisham regarding the granting of citizenship to heritage football players.

In his statement, Badrul clarified that the individuals concerned were granted citizenship under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution through special circumstances, which is a legitimate pathway available to non-Malaysians.

He further confirmed that these heritage players obtained citizenship based on their Malaysian lineage through their grandparents, even though the original handwritten birth certificates could not be retrieved from the National Archives.

The government’s position that this measure aligns with “current administrative practices” is deeply concerning. There are clear indications that standard operating procedures have been amended to extend flexibility. Such internal revisions are often made without parliamentary oversight, for example, allowing the issuance of birth certificates as proof of birth despite the inability to retrieve original handwritten records.

DHRRA Malaysia firmly maintains that any policy or administrative decision on citizenship, while constitutionally valid, must be guided by principles of justice, transparency, constitutional integrity and, above all, equal treatment for all.

We therefore urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to transparently disclose the basis for these flexibilities, particularly the reproduction of documents without verification from the National Archives, and the subsequent submission of such documents by the football association as proof of eligibility through lineage.

If such measures indeed reflect current administrative practices, then the same recognition must be extended without delay to all stateless children with strong links to Malaysia, by granting them citizenship under Article 19 through the provision for special circumstances.

The equal application of such flexibility is crucial to address the alarming rise in childhood statelessness, particularly among children of Malaysian parentage who are often denied citizenship due to lack of documentary proof of lineage.

Equal treatment in the conferral of citizenship is necessary to ensure that the rights of vulnerable Malaysian children are safeguarded without prejudice. – DHRRA

Dato S Saravanan is the president of DHRRA Malaysia.