Rep backs ruling of Court of Appeal on surname

MIRI: A former magistrate who is now Kabong assemblyman, Mohd Chee Kadir, is in agreement with the ruling of the Court of Appeal that a person’s right to a surname is above religious edict.

In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal ruled that a child conceived out of wedlock can take on his or her father’s surname, and that the edict on this by the National Fatwa Committee does not have the force of law.

As a former magistrate, police officer and qualified Syarie lawyer, Mohd Chee is well-versed on the civil and Syariah law.

He said the Court of Appeal correctly interpreted Section 13A( 2) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act ( BDRA) in its ruling on an appeal involving a seven-year- old child, who was born five months and 24 days (or five months and 27 days according to the Islamic Qamariah calendar) after his parents married.

In 2003, the National Fatwa Committee decided that a child conceived out of wedlock cannot carry the name of the person who claims to be the father of the child, if the child was born less than six months after the marriage.

Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli, who wrote the unanimous decision, said the jurisdiction of the National Registration Department ( NRD) director- general is a civil one and is confined to determine whether the father had fulfilled the requirements of Section 13A( 2) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act ( BDRA).

This covers all children conceived out of wedlock, whether Muslim or non-Muslim. The bench, consisting of justices Abdul Rahman, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Zaleha Yusof, allowed the family’s appeal for the child to carry the father’s name.

In agreeing with the decision, Mohd Chee said the directorgeneral of the National Registration Department (NRD) was under the impression that he is bound by an edict by the National Fatwa Committee which the Court of Appeal pronounced as having no force of law.

“If they want the edict of the National Fatwa Committee to be adopted and practised, then the necessary legislation has to be put in place,” he pointed out.

According to him, he had handled a similar case in KL in late 80s but was settled out of court as the director-general agreed to the request by the parents to put the father’s name as the father of the child.

In making the court ruling, Justice Abdul Rahman said the NRD director- general is not obligated to apply, let alone to be bound by a fatwa issued by a religious body such as the National Fatwa Committee.