Court gives green light for woman to challenge home ministry's rejection of citizenship bid

A 67-year-old woman today obtained leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to initiate a judicial review proceeding to challenge the home ministry's decision rejecting her application for Malaysian citizenship.

Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid allowed the application by the woman, who has seven children, after her lawyer, Larissa Ann Louis, informed the court that the Attorney-General's Chambers, in a letter dated Jan 3, did not object.

The judge then fixed Jan 19 for case management.

The woman filed the application on Nov 22, 2022, naming the home ministry secretary-general, the National Registration Department (JPN) director-general, and the government of Malaysia as the first to third respondents.

She is seeking, among others, a declaration that the decision by the defendants in rejecting her application for Malaysian citizenship in a letter dated Aug 23, 2022, was null and void.

According to an affidavit filed in court, the woman said she was born in 1955 at Hospital Teluk Anson in Perak, but was abandoned by her biological mother. She was raised by her adoptive Malaysian parents while her biological parents are now deceased.

Her husband, whom she married in 1974, was stateless but held permanent residency. He died in 2016. 

In 2017, the woman applied to JPN for Malaysian citizenship by naturalisation under Article 19 of the Federal Constitution, but her application was rejected on Aug 23 last year with no reason given.