KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 -- The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has expressed deep concern over a recent Court of Appeal decision that denies Malaysian citizenship to children born out of wedlock to Malaysian fathers and non-Malaysian mothers.

While affirming full respect for judicial independence and acknowledging the court's role in interpreting the Federal Constitution as it stands, Suhakam said the ruling exposes critical gaps in the country's citizenship framework that could leave vulnerable children at risk of statelessness.

"Every child has the right to acquire a nationality," Suhakam said in a statement today, citing Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Malaysia has bee...