How does childhood statelessness reach 8,223 in DHRRA data?

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Childhood Statelessness Reaches 8,223 Cases Due to Unregistered Marriages and Adoption in DHRRA Data

Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA) has identified 8,223 cases of childhood statelessness within its data set, comprising individuals born out of wedlock in Malaysia and children adopted by Malaysian citizens. These cases represent the largest segment of the over 16,000 stateless persons identified by the NGO in Peninsular Malaysia between 2016 and June 2023.
Unregistered Marriages Contribute Significantly to Childhood Statelessness

A substantial driver of childhood statelessness is the failure to register marriages under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. This act mandates government registration for marriages from March 1982 onwards for validity. Consequently, children born from unregistered unions are often treated as born out of wedlock by the Malaysian government, jeopardising their claim to citizenship. This issue is particularly acute when a Malaysian father is married to a non-Malaysian mother without a registered marriage, or when the non-Malaysian mother is absent, leaving the child without a clear citizenship path. Furthermore, stateless women in Malaysia, often due to their own parents' unregistered marriages, face difficulties registering their own marriages, even to Malaysian citizens, perpetuating statelessness across generations.
Adoption and Birth Out of Wedlock Among Key Categories

The DHRRA data highlights that children adopted by Malaysian citizens can also fall into stateless categories if the adoption process does not align with citizenship requirements. Similarly, children born out of wedlock in Malaysia, even to Malaysian fathers, may be denied citizenship if the marriage is not registered or if the circumstances of the birth do not meet specific legal criteria. These situations mean that children who have strong ties to Malaysia and are born within its borders may still face significant hurdles in obtaining citizenship.
Long-Standing Citizenship Application Delays Affect Stateless Children

Some individuals identified by DHRRA have had their citizenship applications pending since 2016, indicating prolonged processing times by the authorities. While Article 15A of the Federal Constitution allows for the registration of individuals under 21 as citizens under special circumstances, the lengthy delays mean that many children are approaching or have already passed this age threshold. This leaves them in a precarious situation, as pathways to citizenship under Article 15A may no longer be available, contributing to the persistent number of stateless individuals.
DHRRA Focuses on Verifying Genuine Statelessness with Malaysian Links

DHRRA's data collection methodology prioritises identifying individuals with strong ties to Malaysia who are genuinely stateless, meaning they have no other country to claim citizenship from. This focus aims to provide the government with verified data to address the issue effectively. The NGO employs trained paralegals to scrutinise cases, ensuring that only genuine stateless individuals with a right to Malaysian citizenship are registered, acknowledging the potential for fraudulent applications and the need for accurate data.

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How does childhood statelessness reach 8,223 in DHRRA data?

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