KUALA LUMPUR — Perak-born Haritharan Mugunthan, 25, today failed again in court to be declared a Malaysian citizen.

This is despite him being born to a Malaysian father, and having once been issued a Malaysian passport when he was just more than one year old.

The Court of Appeal unanimously decided today that Haritharan had failed to fulfill the Federal Constitution's requirements to be a Malaysian automatically.

Court of Appeal judge Datuk Faizah Jamaludin noted that Haritharan referred to factors such as his past Malaysian passport issued in 2002, and his MyKid number or the identification number given out to Malaysian children.

“We are mindful of the appellant's personal circumstances, however this appeal cannot be decided on sympathy.“The question is whether the appellant has established on all evidence before this court that he is a Malaysian citizen by operation of law under the Federal Constitution,” she said when reading excerpts of the court's judgment via Zoom today, referring to Haritharan as the appellant.

At one point, Faizah noted Haritharan had in this citizenship case relied on his birth certificate, the 2022 Malaysian passport, MyKid number, school records, immunisation records, him living in Malaysia and other administrative dealings.

“We accept that these matters explain why the appellant and his family may have believed that he had been treated as Malaysian.

“However, those documents are not the source of citizenship. Citizenship by operation of law arises only if the requirements of the Federal Constitution are satisfied,” she said, ultimately concluding that Haritharan had not met the constitutional requirements for Malaysian citizenship.