KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry and National Registration Department (NRD) will follow the stand taken by the National Fatwa Council to use the surname ‘bin Abdullah’ when registering a Muslim child whose parents are not married.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Home Minister, said the ministry supports the recent statement by NRD director-general Datuk Mohd Yazid Ramli that the NRD will continue the practice of using the surname ‘bin Abdullah’ as surname in the birth certificate of children born out of wedlock.
He said the government will appeal against the landmark judgment on Thursday in which the Court of Appeal ruled that a child who is conceived by Muslim parents out of wedlock can bear his or her father’s name, after allowing an appeal by a seven-year-old boy and his parents.
“We will appeal to a higher court so that the decision can be overturned.
“This is because only legitimate children can bear their father’s name.
Judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, who presided a three-man panel, wrote in his judgment that the NRD director-general had acted irrationally and outside the scope of his power in adding the surname ‘bin Abdullah’ in the birth certificate and in setting aside the parent’s wish to register the father’s name.
Meanwhile, Zahid also called on Muslims to unite and uphold the sanctity and tenets of Islam.
He said the decisions made by the National Fatwa Council should not be challenged by any quarters, be it individuals or judicial organs.
Zahid, who was speaking at a Hari Raya celebration hosted by Gabungan Persatuan Malabar Malaysia (GPMM), warned of attempts by outsiders to break up the ummah (the Muslim community).
“We must unite but at the same time we do not to threaten other religions.
“Rather, we must respect them.
“But they must not interfere in Islamic affairs, let the Muslims handle it themselves,” he said.
He added that while Muslims should be open minded in considering the views of others, they must never compromise on the matters pertaining to religion.
He said Muslims must be steadfast to the teachings of Islam and be fundamentalists.
“Being fundamentalist does not mean being terrorists, it means being defenders of the faith as spiritual and pious Muslims,” he said.
On Sept 3, 2015, the parents of the child who requested to for their identities be made anonymous had filed a judicial review at the High Court but their application was dismissed on Aug 4, last year.
The Muslim couple were legally married on Oct 24, 2009 and the child was born on April 17, 2010 which is five months and 27 days (according to the Islamic Qamariah calender) from the date of their marriage.
The period was short of a few days before the six months period to legitimise the birth of a child.
Their child’s birth was only registered two years later and they had jointly applied to the NRD for the name of the father of the child to be registered as the last name in the birth certificate.
The NRD then refused to register the name on grounds of the fatwa.
Yazid had defended the NRD’s actions, stating it was adhering to a High Court ruling on the matter.
He added that the move was also in line with the stand taken by the National Fatwa Council.
In 2003, the National Fatwa Council decided that an illegitimate child (“Anak Tak Sah Taraf”) cannot take on the name (“tidak boleh dinasabkan”) of the person who claims to be the father of the child, if the child was born less than six months from the marriage of their parents.