Human Rights And Statelessness I N P E N I N S U L AR M AL AYS I A Article Provisions immediately preceding the date of the application, and which include the twelve months immediately preceding that date; (b) that he intends to reside permanently in the Federation; (c) that he is of good character; and (d) except where the application is made before September 1965, and the applicant has attained the age of forty-five years at the date of the application, that he has a sufficient knowledge of the Malay language or the English language or, in the case of an applicant ordinarily resident in Sarawak, the Malay language, the English language or any native language in current use in Sarawak. 3.3.3 Acquisition of nationality by naturalisation The third pathway is citizenship by naturalisation whereby persons over the age of 21 can put in an application for citizenship under Article 19(1), provided they meet the requirements of residing in Malaysia for a specific length of time, having the intention to reside in Malaysia permanently, having good character, and having adequate knowledge of the Malay language. Additionally, the Government may also grant citizenship by naturalisation in “special circumstances as it thinks fit” under Article 19(2). Similarly to citizenship by registration, this is also a non-automatic and discretionary method towards acquiring a nationality. 19.(1) Subject to Clause (9), the Federal Government may, upon application made by any person of or over the age of twenty-one years who is not a citizen, grant a certificate of naturalisation to that person if satisfied— (a) that he has resided in the Federation for the required periods and intends, if the certificate is granted, to do so permanently; (b) that he is of good character; and (c) that he has an adequate knowledge of the Malay language. 60