A Legal Analysis of Stateless Children and Their Rights to Education in Malaysia: A Comparative Study with Thailand

Abstract

Statelessness has been a substantial issue around the globe, including Malaysia, yet the rights to education for the stateless is often overlooked. The discussion on the stateless rights to nationality remains endless, and the possibility for them to possess such rights in the near future is fairly low. Thus, this research seeks to find ways to ensure stateless children can still have access to education regardless of their inability to acquire citizenship. In that regard, this paper further analyses the laws and policies governing stateless children's rights to education in Malaysia and Thailand and propose amendments. This research found that undocumented children in Malaysia are allowed to enrol in public schools under the Professional Circular 2009 and the Zero Reject Policy 2019 which is still enforced. Nevertheless, such policies are still inadequate compared to the 2005 Cabinet Resolution Policy in Thailand. Through the doctrinal research on Malaysian, Thai and international laws, this paper found that the laws in Malaysia are not sufficient to ensure the rights to education of stateless children is protected and it is suggested that the Malaysian government should amend the existing laws and policies to resolve the issue.