KL revises 'gender-biased' immigration rules
KL revises 'gender-biased' immigration rules
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Foreign husbands of Malaysians will be granted permanent resident status as part of the government's move to outlaw sexual discrimination, local media reported on Sunday.
"I have received many complaints from Malaysian women who questioned why they were treated differently from Malaysian men married to foreigners," Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency on Saturday.
"This is very unfair...therefore I would like to announce that there are no longer such differences," he said when launching the Women's Day celebration in the Malaysian capital.
The directive to make the change has been given to the immigration department by the powerful Home Ministry, which is headed by Abdullah.
Immigration officials could not be reached for comment.
Bernama also gave no further details.
Malaysian newspapers reported Malaysian women have often complained that immigration officials turned down their spouses request by to extend their stay in Malaysia.
The husbands normally live in the country using social passes which need to be renewed every year and take a long time to process.
The New Sunday Times said Minister of Women's Affairs and Family Development, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, had proposed that foreign husbands of Malaysians be granted permanent resident status after three years.
It also quoted Badawi as saying that laws which discriminate against women would also be amended. The paper gave no further details.
Earlier in August, Malaysia's parliament approved a constitutional amendment to outlaw sexual discrimination, a move women's groups say will lead to more equality in the mostly- Muslim Southeast Asian nation.
The amendment, which was passed unanimously in Parliament, adds the word "sex" to a list that prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, descent and place of birth.
The amendment had been pushed by activist groups, who challenged the new women's affairs ministry to demonstrate that it was more than just a sop to women voters.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose government is facing the toughest opposition yet from a conservative Islamic party, announced the formation of the ministry in January.
Officials say that women's support has become crucial after many Malay Muslims - Malaysia's largest ethnic group - deserted Mahathir's United Malays National Organization in a 1999 general election and voted for a fundamentalist opposition Islamic party.
The ruling party has since attacked the fundamentalists for planning to introduce an Islamic state, and tried to broaden its appeal to women fearful of being made subordinate under religion- based laws.
The constitution already prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity and nationality.
Malays and other Muslims make up around two-thirds of the country's 23 million people, ethnic Chinese, Indians and tribal groups the remaining third.