“It has to be done by the government, not me,” he said while attending a Malaysian Family symposium in Putrajaya, Harian Metro reported.

Although the overseas-born children were not citizens automatically according to the law, applications for citizenship by registration could still be made with the home ministry.

However, he acknowledged that the process would take a longer time.

The citizenship problem has been highlighted by Family Frontiers, a family support group, who had taken the matter to court with six Malaysian mothers.

The High Court ruled in September that a constitutional provision for citizenship derived from Malaysian fathers should be extended to cover mothers or either parent.

However, the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on Aug 5. In a majority ruling, the court held that the constitutional provision referred to the biological father and could not be extended to include the mother or parents.

It was up to Parliament, not the court, to rewrite the constitution, the judges said.