Malaysia Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Citizenship by operation of law

Legal area

Court

10 Dec 2025

1. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia TAN JUN YAN

Citation

W-01(A)-251-05/2023 (Mahkamah Rayuan)
Court

A
Case number

W-01(A)-251-05/2023 (Mahkamah Rayuan)

The Court held that the plaintiff failed to satisfy Section 19B because of material gaps in the evidence about where and how the child was found, so the presumption could not be invoked; adoption does not convert adoptive parents into biological parents for Section 1(a); and the plaintiff failed to prove lineage required by Section 1(e) so he was not shown to have been "not born a citizen of any country." Section 2(3) only treats the timing of acquisition of citizenship and does not create statelessness where no citizenship was acquired. Accordingly the defendants' appeal was allowed and the…
8 Dec 2025

1. ) FRANCIS D NETTO 2. ) NANCY D NETTO 1. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia

Citation

WA-24-27-04/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

WA-24-27-04/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

The plaintiffs are Malaysian citizens by operation of law under Article 14(1)(b) read with Part II Section 1(a) because they were born within the Federation and their biological father was a Malaysian citizen at the time of their births; Section 17 Part III does not apply to defeat paternal transmission where paternity is established and acknowledged.
8 Dec 2025

1. ) B Muniamal Usha a/p V Balakrishnan 2. ) Calvin Joshua a/l Jonny Suresh 1. ) Pengarah Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia

Citation

WA-24-69-07/2024 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

WA-24-69-07/2024 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

The court found the 2nd Plaintiff was abandoned at birth and therefore a newborn 'found exposed' within the meaning of s19B Part III; invoking s19B raised a presumption that the child was born of a mother permanently resident in the Federation which, together with birth within the Federation, satisfied s1(a) Part II of the Second Schedule and Article 14(1)(b), and the Defendants failed to rebut that presumption; consequently the 2nd Plaintiff is a Malaysian citizen by operation of law and the court ordered administrative relief to effect that status.
28 Nov 2025

1. ) ALAN KNOWLES 2. ) ALEXANDRA FRANCES MARY KNOWLES 1. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia

Citation

WA-24-19-03/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

WA-24-19-03/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

Applicants failed to discharge the burden to prove the child was a newborn found exposed and thus could not invoke the s19B presumption of a mother permanently resident in Malaysia; without that presumption or proof of lineage or statelessness at birth the child does not meet the jus sanguinis requirement in Part II s1(a) or s1(e) of the Second Schedule and therefore is not a Malaysian citizen by operation of law under Article 14(1)(b); the originating summons is dismissed.
27 Nov 2025

DANG THI VAN 1. ) kementerian dalam negeri, malaysia 2. ) Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN)

Citation

JA-24NCvC-83-01/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

JA-24NCvC-83-01/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

At the time of birth the child was illegitimate because parents were not married; by Section 17 Part III Second Schedule references to father/parent for an illegitimate child are to be read as references to the mother, who is a Vietnamese citizen; therefore the child did not satisfy the requirement of having a parent who was a Malaysian citizen at birth under Article 14(1)(b) read with Part II Second Schedule and is not a Malaysian by operation of law; the originating summons was also procedurally defective in failing to state the precise legal provision relied upon, but the substantive findi…
18 Nov 2025

1. ) LIM YONG KIM 2. ) LEONG SIEW CHAN (P) 3. ) LIM YONG KIM (WAKIL LITIGASI KEPADA LIM WEI QI BELUM DEWASA) 1. ) Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Dalam Negeri 2. ) PENDAFTAR BESAR KELAHIRAN DAN KEMATIAN JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA MALAYSIA

Citation

JB-24NCvC-308-06/2024 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

JB-24NCvC-308-06/2024 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

The originating summons is dismissed because, applying the binding Federal Court interpretation of Section 17, the 3rd Applicant was illegitimate at birth so parentage for citizenship follows the mother; the mother is not shown to be a Malaysian citizen or permanently resident, adoption does not retroactively alter legitimacy or confer citizenship at birth, and Section 19B's presumption of a permanently resident mother does not apply on the facts (child was not abandoned and there is information identifying the mother).
18 Nov 2025

1. ) KOH THONG BEE 2. ) MYA THINZAR MAW 3. ) KOH MIAW XIN 1. ) Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Dalam Negeri 2. ) PENDAFTAR BESAR KELAHIRAN DAN KEMATIAN JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA MALAYSIA

Citation

JB-24NCvC-140-04/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

JB-24NCvC-140-04/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

The 3rd Applicant was illegitimate at birth so Section 17 applies and the child's citizenship follows the mother, therefore Article 14(1)(b) cannot be invoked through the father's citizenship; additionally naturalization under Article 19 is a federal government function excluded from judicial review by Part III, so the application fails and is dismissed.
6 Nov 2025

1. ) HARI KRSHNAN A/L S.K. PUVANESWARAN 2. ) MEGHANA A/P POOVANESWARAN 1. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia

Citation

BA-24-18-07/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

BA-24-18-07/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

Plaintiffs failed to prove the child is a Malaysian citizen by operation of law: the presumption in Section 19B did not apply because the facts indicated a planned surrender rather than a newborn "found exposed" and the identity/status of the biological mother was not established as permanently resident in Malaysia; for an illegitimate child citizenship follows the biological mother and adoption does not convert adoptive parents into the relevant 'parents' under Part II Section 1(a); claim dismissed.
16 Jul 2025

1. ) CHONG KOK WAI 2. ) WEE LEE CHENG 1. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 2. ) MENTERI DALAM NEGERI MALAYSIA 3. ) Kerajaan Malaysia

Citation

BA-24-5-02/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

BA-24-5-02/2025 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

The court applied binding Federal Court authority and held that (1) adoption after birth cannot satisfy section 1(a) since at least one parent must be a citizen at the time of birth; and (2) section 1(e) is to be construed narrowly by reference to descent and recognized citizenship at birth, therefore CYH is born an Indonesian citizen by virtue of his mother under Indonesian law notwithstanding practical non-registration; consequently the Originating Summons fails and is dismissed.
2 Jul 2024

IRHAZMI BIN ALI KASIM 1. ) PENDAFTAR BESAR KELAHIRAN DAN KEMATIAN JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA MALAYSIA 2. ) KETUA PENGARAH JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA 3. ) Ketua Setiausaha Menteri Dalam Negeri

Citation

JA-24NCvC-969-08/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Court

High Court
Case number

JA-24NCvC-969-08/2023 (Mahkamah Tinggi)

Applicant failed to discharge the burden to prove he was 'not born a citizen of any country' (jus sanguinis) because contemporaneous registration and birth certificate established parents of Indonesian descent and prima facie non‑Malaysian status; absent specific, verifiable inquiries or evidence about parents' citizenship the court could not find statelessness; naturalisation is an executive matter not for the court to grant; therefore the originating summons is dismissed.