“THE CONDITIONAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE ONLY VERIFIES A CHILD BEING BORN IN MALAYSIA BUT NOT THAT HE IS ENTITLED FOR AN IDENTITY CARD APPLICATION,”

DNA test for birth certs in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU October 11, 2009: The courts in Sabah have decided that a DNA test should be made a requirement for certain cases of late registration of birth certificates in the state.

Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court Judge Ismail Brahim said at a media workshop on child protection organised by Unicef that applicants would have to prove that their biological parents were Malaysians through DNA testing.

He said the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malan­jum, decided on the DNA test after meeting mobile court officials, who had come across a number of “doubtful” applicants for late birth registration.

Ismail said doubts arose when a substantial number of the late applicants were from the Kota Kinabalu area, especially from Pulau Gaya.

Ismail, who was giving a talk on the role of mobile courts in registering Malaysians in rural areas, said the courts had helped to resolve some 2,200 such cases since early 2007.

He said the courts’ role was to validate the late registration of births so that the individuals could then apply for their Malaysian identity cards with the National Registration Department.

He said those who did not register their birth would be considered stateless.

Ismail said that under the law, a child should be registered within 42 days of birth.

After that, any registration would result in the child being issued a “conditional birth certificate”.

“The conditional birth certificate only verifies a child being born in Malaysia but not that he is entitled for an identity card application,” he added.