KUALA LUMPUR: Marriage between a Muslim foreign national and a Malaysian of Malay descent does not change the foreign spouse's ethnicity to Malay, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the National Registration Department (NRD) would not change the foreign national's ethnicity based on the marriage, which does not alter the individual's original ethnic background.
In a Facebook post today, Saifuddin said the matter had been clearly explained in his written reply in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
However, he said some media reports had used headlines that could cause confusion and mislead the public.
He also shared a copy of the parliamentary question and his full answer to enable the public to refer to the information and understand the issue accurately.
Saifuddin urged the public not to draw conclusions based solely on headlines, but to verify facts and understand the context before sharing information.
"Check the facts, understand the real context, and share accurate information so that we do not become part of the spread of misleading information," he said.
Saifuddin stated in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that the marriage of a Muslim foreign national to a Muslim Malay in the country will not change their original ethnic status.
However, he informed that if a child is born from a legally recognised marriage under Malaysian law between a Muslim foreign national and a Malaysian citizen of Malay descent, the child's mother or father can choose whether the child is registered according to the mother's or father's ethnicity.
Saifuddin was answering a question from Pang Hok Liong (PH-Labis) regarding whether a Muslim foreign national who marries a Malaysian citizen of Malay ethnicity can be considered a Bumiputera.
Pang also asked whether they are eligible or not to enjoy the rights or privileges granted to Bumiputeras, as well as the conditions that must be met to obtain such eligibility.
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