Citizenship
Malaysian citizenship may be acquired in one of four ways:
- by operation of law,
- by registration,
- by naturalisation and
- by incorporation of territory (See Articles 14 – 28A and the Second Schedule).
The requirements for citizenship by naturalisation, which would be relevant to foreigners who wish to become Malaysian citizens, stipulate that an applicant must be at least 21 years old, intend to reside permanently in Malaysia, have good character, have an adequate knowledge of the Malay language, and meet a minimum period of residence in Malaysia: he or she must have been resident in Malaysia for at least 10 years out of the 12 years, as well as the immediate 12 months, before the date of the citizenship application (Art. 19). The Malaysian Government retains the discretion to decide whether or not to approve any such applications.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Malaysia
Famous quotes containing the word citizenship:
“To see self-sufficiency as the hallmark of maturity conveys a view of adult life that is at odds with the human condition, a view that cannot sustain the kinds of long-term commitments and involvements with other people that are necessary for raising and educating a child or for citizenship in a democratic society.”
—Carol Gilligan (20th century)
“I would wish that the women of our country could embrace ... [the responsibilities] of citizenship as peculiarly their own. If they could apply their higher sense of service and responsibility, their freshness of enthusiasm, their capacity for organization to this problem, it would become, as it should become, an issue of profound patriotism. The whole plane of political life would be lifted.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“Bohemia is nothing more than the little country in which you do not live. If you try to obtain citizenship in it, at once the court and retinue pack the royal archives and treasure and move away beyond the hills.”
—O. Henry [William Sydney Porter] (1862–1910)