Labor senator Penny Wong renounced her Malaysian citizenship before she was elected to the Australian Senate

The meme was published in this Facebook post on September 5, 2018, where it has been shared more than 600 times after being posted by an Australia based Facebook page with more than 20,000 followers.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

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The meme shows Australian Senator Penny Wong, the leader of the opposition in the Senate.

The text next to the Labor senator’s photo states: “I’m Penny Wong. I was born in Malaysia & I still haven’t proved I am eligible under Section 44. Typical Labor game plan is to ignore it until the dumb voters forget. Works every time!” 

Section 44 of the Australian Constitution prohibits people with dual citizenship from holding political office in Australia. 

The post’s caption states: “Today's Lesson in Getting to Know Labor Penny Wong, Penny a very good friend of Julie Bishop, is so far left she will never be right, and always WONG”. 

The same photo was published here on Facebook and here on Twitter with a similar claim.

The claim that Wong is ineligible for office because she was born in Malaysia is false; she renounced her Malaysian citizenship before being first elected to the Senate in 2001.

She renounced her Malaysian citizenship more than three months prior to the November 2001 federal election, as seen in this statement submitted to the Register of Senators' Qualifications. 

Section 4(a) - foreign citizen - of Wong’s statement reads: “Article 23 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution provides citizens the capacity to renounce Malaysian citizenship if they are, or about to, become a citizen of another country. 

“Consistent with this law, I renounced any entitlement to Malaysian citizenship by completing the required government form, Form K, on 23 May 2001 prior to nominating for the 2001 Federal Election. This was registered by the Malaysian Government on 28 July 2001.” 

Below is a screenshot of that part of the statement: 

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Malaysia’s National Registration Department confirmed Wong’s renunciation of citizenship in a letter dated July 28, 2001. 

The letter is included in the statement, as seen in the screenshot below:

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A spokesperson for Wong’s office also confirmed she had renounced her Malaysian citizenship in an email to AFP dated July 16, 2019, which reads:

“Penny renounced any claim she may have had to Malaysian citizenship in 2001 before she first entered Parliament. Documents confirming this are publicly available on the Parliament House website.” 

Wong has since been re-elected in 2007, 2013 and again for a six-year term in 2016. 

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked similar misleading claims relating to Section 44 of the Australian Constitution here.