21 February 2022 was a historic day! The Government finally made a small step in the right direction when three of out the six Malaysian mothers in Suriani Kempe & Ors v Government of Malaysia & Ors were issued citizenship certificates (Sijil Pengesahan Taraf) by the National Registration Department (JPN) Headquarters in Putrajaya.

This is a long-overdue and momentous occasion. Myra, one of the mothers, says that she is overjoyed that her daughter is now Malaysian just like her son. “My daughter can finally feel like she belongs here, in the country she has known as home ever since she was just 4 months old,” she says.

Still, the struggle is not over.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court judgement from 9 September 2021 applies to all Malaysian mothers and their children in similar situations. However, the other three Malaysian mothers have yet to receive their citizenship certificates, and feedback received by Family Frontiers from mothers who went to submit their documents demonstrates that there is a lack of procedural clarity among JPN branches and embassies or high commissions.

The Government has also yet to withdraw its appeal against the KL High Court judgment; the Court of Appeal hearing is on 23 March 2022. With just one month until then, we call upon all our supporters to share our petition to call for the Government to #TarikBalikRayuan and contribute financially to our fundraising initiative.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial for the Government to solidify the High Court judgment into law by withdrawing the appeal, and to expedite its implementation without further delay; this development proves that it is possible to do so. So long as the appeal stands, Malaysian mothers and their children are denied their constitutionally vested rights. We need you, reading this right now, to share our petition far and wide today!

Here’s some background: The three Malaysian mothers submitted their documents to JPN under Article 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution on 29 December 2021, following the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the Government’s stay of execution application on 22 December 2021. JPN had requested the plaintiffs to be present at the JPN Headquarters in Putrajaya on 21 February 2022 for the issuance of their children’s citizenship certificates; this was in response to a letter served by Family Frontiers’ legal team. Upon arrival, they had to wait for 4 hours, and were initially told that the citizenship certificates could not be issued on the same day due to issues with JPN’s printer settings (you read that right).