Azalina also said that she had already spoken to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail regarding a constitutional amendment to grant citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian mothers. — Malay Mail photo
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): De facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman today pledged to continue the work of the previous administration to abolish the mandatory death penalty.
Azalina also said that she had already spoken to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail regarding a constitutional amendment to grant citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian mothers.
“He is extremely sympathetic, and to me, that is a good sign that he understands and is extremely aware,” she told reporters after speaking at the Human Rights Day Forum 2022 at the Royale Chulan Hotel here today.
She added that she will be writing a Cabinet paper on the matter and that there are also additional steps that need to be taken by the Home Ministry before the relevant law is amended.
However, Azalina was less forthcoming when asked by reporters to give her outlook on proposals to ban child marriage.
“I’d rather not cross jurisdictions,” she said, explaining that she will have to consult with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry before commenting on the matter.
In June last year, former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar announced that the then Cabinet had agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and was studying substitute punishments.
On citizenship laws, in September, the High Court ruled that a constitutional provision that allows Malaysian fathers to automatically transfer their citizenship to their children born overseas to foreign spouses should be extended to cover mothers.
However, the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on August 5, with the judges saying that it was up to Parliament, not the court, to rewrite the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the push to ban marriages for girls under the age of 16 has failed over the years — with the previous women, family and community development minister, Rina Harun, saying that education on the matter was more important. — Malay Mail