Bar: Abide by 'out-of-wedlock' name ruling

The Malaysian Bar is alarmed by statements that have been attributed to various authorities, which appear to be in defiance of the landmark decision by the Court of Appeal on July 25 in A Child & 2 Lagi v Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara & 2 Lagi.

In that decision, the court had stated that section 13A(2) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) "allows for the surname of the illegitimate child to be in the name of the person acknowledging himself to be the father of the child".

It further stated that “(a) fatwa or a religious edict issued by a religious body has no force of law unless the fatwa or edict has been made or adopted as federal law by an Act of Parliament", referring to a fatwa by the National Fatwa Committee in 2003.

The director-general of the National Registration Department (NRD) and the director-general of the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) are reported to have said that the current procedure on registering a Muslim child conceived out of wedlock - whereby the child will not be permitted to bear his or her father’s name - will remain unchanged in spite of the Court of Appeal decision.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the home minister, is reported to have expressed support for the NRD’s stand, and as having stated that the NRD is "carrying out its tasks according to the fatwa committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs’ ruling which did not allow children conceived out of wedlock to take the name of the father”.

The reported statements by the director-general of the NRD, the director-general of Jakim, and the deputy prime minister, imply the intention to defy the Court of Appeal decision, and are thus in contempt of court, which cannot be condoned.

The government has the right to file an appeal - and has done so - against the decision by the Court of Appeal.

However, until and unless there is an order for a stay of execution of that decision and/or the decision is reversed by the Federal Court, it is incumbent on all parties to respect and comply with the decision.

The Malaysian Bar urges all parties, especially the authorities, to abide by the decision of the Court of Appeal, and to respect the Judiciary and the process of the administration of justice.

To do otherwise would be an affront to the rule of law, and would lead Malaysia down the path of lawlessness.

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GEORGE VARUGHESE is the Malaysian Bar president. - Mkini