KUALA LUMPUR: Children living in charity homes associated with GISB Sdn Bhd (GISB) face the risk of being declared "anak wait syubhah” (illegitimate).
Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) president Musa Awang said that under the Syaria law, particularly the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984, the recognition of a child's lineage depends on the marital status of the mother and father.
"If a father claims that someone is his son, he needs to present a valid marriage certificate. If there is no certificate, he needs to get confirmation from the Syariah Court to confirm the marriage," he said when contacted by Bernama.
However, Musa said in the case of children rescued from charity homes, their parents may be unaware of their existence, which can lead to uncertainty about their lineage.
Musa said when determining the lineage of children from invalid or unregistered marriages, the greatest challenge lies in verifying the marital status of their parents, which includes providing the necessary documents and witnesses from the marriage ceremony.
"There may be witnesses. If there are no witnesses, or the witnesses are dead or untraceable, the marriage can be considered invalid, causing the child to be declared as anak wati' syubhah (a child born out of wedlock).
"That is why it is important for the mother or father to appear before the authorities to acknowledge the legitimacy of their child's lineage.
"When the status of the children cannot be determined, it will certainly make it difficult for the children to obtain their basic rights such as education, health, and citizenship," he said.
According to Musa, in Islamic law, a child who is abandoned or left without a guardian is called al-laqit and it becomes a trust for the person who finds him, or who is given the child, to hand over the child to the authorities.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of all Muslims, including the government or Baitulmal, to care for or provide placement for these al-laqit children until they reach adulthood, or to place them with Muslim adoptive families who can properly care for them, he said, adding that PGSM is willing to assist the government to solve the lineage issue of the children concerned.
Last Sept 23, nearly two weeks after the police launched Ops Global, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain was reported as saying that the parents of the 572 children and teenagers rescued from charity homes linked to GISB have yet to come forward to claim their children.
The parents are believed to be avoiding this to prevent the exposure of their tactic of presenting the charity homes as orphanages to solicit donations, when in fact, the children are the offspring of members of the organisation.
Some parents who were arrested even denied that the children rescued were theirs. In some cases, police interrogations revealed that children, especially those under 12, claimed they did not even know who their parents were.
Meanwhile, Syariah and civil law practitioner Muhammad Hariz Md Yusoff said children whose lineage is in doubt are at risk of being declared 'stateless' or without citizenship.
He said the laws in Malaysia are very strict in granting citizenship status, and it is not easy for an individual to claim that a child is entitled to be registered as a citizen without any supporting evidence.
Accordingly, he said, the lineage verification process for the rescued children needs to be speeded up to avoid related issues including problems in determining "faraid" (Islamic Inheritance jurisprudence).
Citing Section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957, he said, the registration of lineage is important and the verification process should be through court procedures.
For children suspected of being abused or neglected, the civil law provides platforms such as the Child Act 2001 and the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017.
Civil action can also be taken to claim compensation for negligence by the guardian.
Muhammad Hariz also emphasised the importance of holding awareness campaigns on the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the authorities in facilitating the process of determining the lineage of the children concerned.
"Any decision taken should always consider the well-being and rights of children, including the right to know their parents and for psychological support to help them overcome the difficult situation," he said. - Bernama
