JOHOR BARU: The Federal Government has been urged to drop its plans to appeal the recent High Court decision allowing Malaysian women to confer citizenship to their children on an equal basis with men.

       Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar said all children born to Malaysian parents abroad must be accorded the right to citizenship in this country.

       “The sanctity of the court must be upheld. Why discriminate against Malaysian mothers with overseas-born children? This is a basic right of every child, irrespective of whether the Malaysian parent is the father or the mother.

       “It doesn’t feel right that Malaysian fathers and mothers are viewed differently in the eyes of the law concerning their child’s citizenship.

       “Are Malaysian mothers less Malaysian than Malaysian fathers?” he said in a Facebook statement yesterday.

       The Sultan said in the spirit of the “Malaysian Family”, the Attorney General should withdraw the appeal against the court decision.

       “Now is the time to embrace, welcome and nurture them as Malaysians, not to reject and turn them away. Such a policy is fundamentally flawed,” he added.

       On Monday, the government appealed the High Court ruling on Sept 9 which gave Malaysian women the same right as Malaysian men to confer automatic citizenship on their overseas-born children.

       Elsewhere, Sultan Ibrahim also congratulated Johorean singer- songwriter Gin Lee and comedian-actor Ronny Chieng for their remarkable achievements on the global stage and thanked them for bringing glory to Johor in their own way.

       “I believe Johor has many talents who have yet to be found and nurtured. Let them be an example and inspiration of what Johor can achieve, and spur our own local arts and entertainment scene to greater heights,” wrote Sultan Ibrahim.

       Chieng is a star on the award-winning show The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and was recently in Marvel’s Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

       Lee is a Cantopop singer who recently did a duet with one of Hong Kong’s Four Heavenly Kings, Jacky Cheung, at the Miss Hong Kong 2021 pageant, singing Let the Street Lights Rest When the Sun Rises.