Dr. Muhamad Akmal Saleh, Umno Youth Chief, is advocating for a plan that would require mastery of Bahasa Melayu (BM) in order to get Malaysian citizenship.
His comments follow reports that an immigration official at Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Komtar, Penang, reportedly refused to renew a local old woman's passport because she couldn't speak the national language lately.
This happens despite the woman's son claiming that his mother was unable to speak the language since she was too impoverished to attend school.
Former MP N Surendran said Akmal's idea is illogical because Malaysian citizenship is decided at birth and depends on the parents' nationalities.
Surendran advised that Akmal, a medical practitioner, study the Federal Constitution to brush up on his understanding of citizenship here.
Surendran also jokingly inquired on X if the BM test should be given to a newborn after it was born or after the umbilical cord was cut off.
Source: The Rakyat Post
