Illegitimate children remain largest citizenship application category in Sarawak

Fatimah (centre) speaks during a press conference after chairing the JKKSK meeting held at Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang Building in Simpang Tiga on May 8, 2026.

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, May 8: Applications for citizenship involving illegitimate children continue to form the largest category handled by Sarawak’s Special Committee on Citizenship Status (JKKSK) under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution.

Sarawak Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said a total of 314 citizenship applications were received from 2024 until May 8 this year, with 191 cases involving illegitimate children.

This was followed by 98 applications involving foster children and 25 cases involving adopted children.

“For today’s meeting alone, 32 applications were tabled, consisting of 21 illegitimate children cases, 10 foster children cases and one adopted child case,” she said at a press conference after chairing the JKKSK meeting held at Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang Building in Simpang Tiga today.

Of the 21 illegitimate children cases discussed today, 13 involved Indonesian mothers, three were from the Philippines, one from China, one from Vietnam, while three had incomplete information.

Fatimah said most applications involving illegitimate children came from Kuching, followed by Miri, Engkilili, Bau, Sri Aman and Serian.

She added that the issue is largely linked to unregistered or improperly registered marriages, where children are born before their parents’ marriage is legally recorded and the mother is a foreign national.

“If the marriage is conducted overseas, it must also be registered in Malaysia. Otherwise, the child will not be recognised as a citizen and will fall under the illegitimate category,” she explained.

She urged couples, especially those involving foreign spouses, to ensure proper marriage registration to avoid future citizenship complications for their children.

On approvals, Fatimah said 141 applications submitted between 2023 and 2024 have been approved and are currently undergoing certificate issuance, which takes about one month and is processed in Putrajaya.

She also revealed that 1,037 citizenship certificates have been issued as of April 2026, including applications approved over previous years, even before the establishment of the special committee in 2016.

Fatimah noted a declining trend in monthly applications, which she said reflects growing public awareness on the importance of proper marriage registration.

She reiterated that JKKSK’s role is to facilitate and assess applications before making recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), which holds the final authority on citizenship decisions.

“Our role is to facilitate and assess the merit of applications before deciding whether to support or not support them. The final decision rests with KDN under existing laws and procedures,” she said. — DayakDaily