NRD D-G not bound by fatwa to decide surnames of illegitimate Muslim kids

NRD office.

PUTRAJAYA: The National Registration Department (NRD) director-general is not bound by any fatwa or religious edict issued by the National Fatwa Committee to decide on the surname of a Muslim child conceived out of wedlock.

In a 29-page landmark judgment, Justice Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli said the director-general's jurisdiction was a civil one and confined to determining whether the child's parents had fulfilled the requirements under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) which covered all illegitimate children, Muslim or non-Muslim.