Children of Malays, foreign Muslim spouses can be registered as Malays

KUALA LUMPUR: Children born to Malaysian Malays and foreign Muslim spouses can be registered as Malays, provided they are born from a marriage recognised under Malaysian law, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.

He said the parents could choose to register the child's ethnicity according to either the Malaysian parent's Malay ethnicity or the foreign parent's ethnicity.

However, Saifuddin said marriage to a Malaysian of Malay descent did not change the foreign spouse's ethnicity, which would remain unchanged.

"The National Registration Department would not determine the ethnicity of the foreign spouse.

"The determination of whether a person qualified as a Bumiputera and was eligible for the rights or privileges accorded to the group also fell outside the department's jurisdiction, as such matters were subject to the laws, policies and conditions set by the relevant agencies or authorities," he said in a parliamentary written reply.

Saifuddin was responding to a question from Labis MP Pang Hok Liong, who asked whether foreign Muslims married to Malaysians of Malay descent could be considered Bumiputera and enjoy the rights and privileges accorded to the group, as well as the conditions involved.