Apex Court orders ‘bin Abdullah’ removed from boy’s birth cert

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court, in a majority 4-3 verdict, ordered the National Registration Department (NRD) director-general to remove the word ‘bin Abdullah’ from the birth certificate of a Muslim illegitimate child but ruled against the decision that allowed the child to take his father’s name.

The seven-member bench led by Court of Appeal President Datuk Rohana Yusuf ruled that the NRD director-general cannot impose the fatwa of the National Fatwa Committee on the Johor-born child as there was no fatwa on how to name an illegitimate child gazetted in that state (Johor).

The National Fatwa requires a Muslim Illegitimate child to ascribe to ‘bin Abdullah’.

“The opinion of the National Fatwa Committee or a fatwa will become law in the state of Johor and would be legally binding only if it is gazetted in the State Gazette pursuant to Section 49 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Johor) Enactment 2003,” she said.

The court had allowed partly the appeal brought by NRD, its director-general and the government to set aside the appellate court’s decision in 2017 that allowed a Muslim illegitimate child to bear his father’s name instead of using ‘bin Abdullah’.

“Consequential order is made for the director-general of the NRD to remove ‘bin Abdullah’ from the birth certificate of the first respondent (the child),” said Justice Rohana who delivered the majority Federal Court decision.

She said the child’s name will remain in the birth certificate, but without the words ‘bin Abdullah’.

In her judgment, Justice Rohana said the NRD director-general had acted unreasonably in imposing a particular fatwa on the child and the child’s parents and in doing so the NRD director-general had indeed usurped the power of the Royal Highness the Sultan of Johor.

She said the NRD directorgeneral, in performing registration of births of Muslim children, may refer to and rely on Islamic laws on Section 111 of the Islamic Family Law (State of Johor) Enactment 2003 on ascription of paternity.

She also ruled that Muslim child cannot take his father’s name as the law -- Section 13A of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) - do not apply to registration of births of Muslim children as Malays do not carry any surnames. - Bernama