Human Rights And Statelessness I N P E N I N S U L AR M AL AYS I A Section 6 of Part III of the Second Schedule empowers the Minister of Home Affairs as the assigned competent authoritative body on all citizenship matters, to “make rules and prescribe forms for the purpose of the exercise of his functions”, allowing wide room for discretion. All decisions made by the government on citizenship acquisition (operation of law, registration, naturalisation) are not open to appeal or review by applicants. A person is not “entitled to appeal or review any decisions in any court” on all citizenship matters decided by the Minister on behalf of the federal government, as outlined in Section 2 of Part III of the Second Schedule. 3.4 Analysis of Malaysia’s nationality laws and their implementation in practice 3.4.1 Statelessness safeguards within Malaysia’s nationality laws First, the Federal Constitution provides safeguards for all stateless persons born in Malaysia, specifically in Article 14(1)(b), read with Section 1(e) and Section 2(3) under Part II of the Second Schedule. A child born in Malaysia who has not acquired a nationality from any other State within one year of their birth is considered a Malaysian citizen. Section 1(e) provides that “every person born within the Federation who is not born a citizen of any country is a citizen of the Federation by operation of law,” while Section 2(3) stipulates the time period, “having at birth any citizenship which he acquires within one year afterwards.” This means that regardless of their parents’ citizenship, all stateless persons born in Malaysia, who have yet to acquire any citizenship within one year, are citizens by operation of law (Rodziana Mohamed Razali, 2017; Liew, 2019). 1. (e) every person born within the Federation who is not born a citizen of any country otherwise than by virtue of this paragraph. Second, there is a safeguard for abandoned children’s or foundlings’ right to a nationality. Section 19(B) of Part III of the Second Schedule read with Article 14(1)(b) stipulates that “any new born child found exposed in any place shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, to have been born there of a mother permanently resident there.” These provisions recognise foundlings or abandoned children as nationals of Malaysia. 68