Amend law on birth registration

SHARING in the grief of the fiancé and family over their tragic loss of Teoh Beng Hock, Wanita MCA calls on the government to register Teoh as the father of [his unborn child] upon [his or her] birth. Wanita MCA also wants the government to amend the existing law which necessitates the physical presence of the biological father during birth registration whereby [if the father is absent], the baby’s birth certificate will only carry the mother’s details.

This [would be] in line with the government’s efforts and the announcement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to decide on the application for Malaysian citizenship for four categories i.e. applicants for permanent resident status; stateless children; those without birth certificates; and  those without documents who are residing in Sabah and Sarawak.

The National Registration Department should register the birth of Teoh’s child identifying Teoh as the father. [He and his fiancé] had [already] made known to all relatives and friends that they were scheduled to register their marriage on 17 July 2009.

Given such circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased and on humanitarian grounds, Wanita MCA urges the home minister to allow the child to be registered in the father’s name when he/she is born. It is a gross injustice to the unborn child [if this does not happen] as the innocent child would suffer the stigma throughout his/her life of being identified as a mother’s love child rather than as a child of both parents.

At all times, the rights of a child to citizenship and identity should be respected and safeguarded.

Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun
National Chairperson
Wanita MCA