PUTRAJAYA: A former clinic assistant and her four sons has lost their bid to compel the National Registration department (NRD) to change their names and remove the word "Islam" from their identity cards.
Court of Appeal judge Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who chaired a three-man panel, held that the contention by the five appellants that their religion was mistakenly inserted by the NRD was not supported by any cogent evidence.
"Based on evidence on records, we are of the unanimous view that the NRD decision not to change the names and religions of the applicants in their respective identity cards is correct in law and cannot be categorised as perverse, unreasonable, irrational or illegal, which needs our intervention.
"The applicants have identified themselves as Indian Muslim and profess to be followers of Islam," he said in the judgment Friday.
Justice Mohd Zawawi affirmed a High Court order that rejected their judicial review application to change their names and remove the word "Islam" from their identity cards.
In the panel were Court of Appeal judges Justice P.Nallini and Justice Abd Rahman Sebli.
The panel ordered the appellants to pay a total costs of RM5,000 at the High Court and Appeals Court.
Jamilah Jan Vasanthegokelam, 56, and her four sons had attempted to change their names and omit the word "Islam" from their identity cards.
Her eldest son, Mohd Sharif Abdullah, 35, was from her first marriage to a Hindu man, S. Ghanasan.
Her other three sons from her second marriage are Mohd Jefrey Mohd Baser, 32; Mohd Jass Mohd Baser, 28 and Mohd Naser Mohd Baser, 22.
Her three other sons are from her second marriage to a Mohd Baser Kalakan.
In her court papers, Jamilah said her real name was Vasanthegokelam Subramaniam and that she was born to Hindu parents.
A High Court had on Feb 10 dismissed Jamilah's and her four sons' application to change their names and remove the word 'Islam' from their identity cards.
