Rakyat British (BOC) dan Legasi Kolonial British di Malaysia (British Overseas Citizens and The British Colonial Legacy In Malaysia)

Abstract

The question of the “British Overseas Citizen” (BOC) became a concern for the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2014 when Malaysian nationals, who failed to secure British nationality, were not readily accepted by the Malaysian government. The status of these BOCs is the consequence of mid-twentieth century British decolonization, which allowed inhabitants of their former colonies to retain the nationality of the colonial power. However, this gate to British nationality was gradually closed to these inhabitants since the 1960s to prevent them from claiming full citizenship rights in the UK. With the 2002 amendment to the British Nationality Act (1981), Malaysian BOCs were no longer eligible to apply for British nationality even if they renounced their Malaysian nationality. This article argues that the stateless predicament of these Malaysians is the result of changes in the practice of, and laws surrounding, British nationality, rather than the result of the Malaysian exclusionary citizenship regime.