JABATAN PENDAFTARAN NEGARA & ORS v. SEORANG KANAK-KANAK & ORS; MAJLIS AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI JOHOR (INTERVENER) [2020] 4 CLJ 731
FEDERAL COURT, PUTRAJAYA
ROHANA YUSUF PCA; AZAHAR MOHAMED CJ (MALAYA); DAVID WONG DAK WAH CJ (SABAH AND SARAWAK); MOHD ZAWAWI SALLEH FCJ; ABANG ISKANDAR FCJ; IDRUS HARUN FCJ; NALLINI PATHMANATHAN FCJ
[CIVIL APPEAL NO: 01(f)-43-09-2017(W)]
13 FEBRUARY 2020
The decision of the Director General of National Registration (DGNR) in declining to allow a Malay Muslim illegitimate child to bear his biological father's name in his birth certificate is legal, rational and reasonable, and does not in any way militate against the purport of s. 13A(2) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) or the child's fundamental constitutional liberties. Section 13A BDRA, which allows a child's surname to be stated in his birth certificate, cannot apply to a Malay Muslim child, since a Malay Muslim child, in reality and by culture and tradition, never carries a surname, and also because the biological father's name by definition does not constitute a surname. Be that as it may, and whilst the DGNR in so registering the birth may apply the child's Islamic personal law to the registration process, his decision to ascribe "bin Abdullah" to the child's name upon the adoption of a fatwa issued by the National Fatwa Committee (NFC) is wrong in law and devoid of any legal basis. As the child was born in the State of Johor, and the State has not adopted nor gazetted the NFC's fatwa, the same cannot apply to the State, and consequently, the DGNR, in imposing the fatwa on the child, has usurped the power of the Fatwa Committee of Johor and violated ss. 49 and 52 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Johor) Enactment 2003. Consequentially, the words "bin Abdullah" must be removed from the child's birth certificate.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Judicial review - Challenge against decision of Director General of National Registration ('DGNR') - Application by Malay Muslim illegitimate child - Application to enter name of father of child in child's Birth Register - DGNR issued child's birth certificate and entered child's full name with 'bin Abdullah' instead of 'bin' father's name - Application to correct child's name from 'bin Abdullah' to 'bin' father's name dismissed by DGNR - Whether DGNR's refusal to correct or alter particulars 'bin Abdullah' to be substituted with 'bin' father's name in Birth Register made in accordance with law - Whether s. 13A of Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 ('BDRA') applies to registration of births of Muslim children - Whether enabling child to be named with personal name of person acknowledged to be father of child - Whether 'surname' in s. 13A of BDRA includes patronymic surnames - Whether Malays have surnames
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Fundamental liberties - Personal liberty - Challenge against decision of Director General of National Registration ('DGNR') - Application by Malay Muslim illegitimate child - Application to enter name of father of child in child's Birth Register - DGNR issued child's birth certificate and entered child's full name with 'bin Abdullah' instead of 'bin' father's name - Child's birth certificate contained notation 'Permohonan Seksyen 13' as acknowledgment of registration of birth for illegitimate child - Whether entry of 'bin Abdullah' and notation 'Permohonan Seksyen 13' in child's birth certificate infringed child's fundamental liberties
ISLAMIC LAW
Legislation - Islamic law of State - Challenge against decision of Director General of National Registration ('DGNR') - Application by Malay Muslim illegitimate child - Application to enter name of father of child in child's Birth Register - DGNR issued child's birth certificate and entered child's full name with 'bin Abdullah' instead of 'bin' father's name - Child's birth certificate contained notation 'Permohonan Seksyen 13' as acknowledgment of registration of birth for illegitimate child - DGNR relied on fatwa by National Fatwa Committee ('NFC') in arriving at decision - Whether, in performing registration of births of Muslim children, Registrar of Births and Deaths may refer to and rely on sources of Islamic law on legitimacy - Whether DGNR could rely on fatwa by NFC when child is subjected to Islamic laws of State - Whether illegitimate Muslim child could be ascribed to name of father in Islam - Islamic Family Law (State of Johor) Enactment 2003, ss. 52 & 111
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