The High Court decision comes after the child has spent 11 years making multiple attempts to be recognised as a Malaysian citizen. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — The High Court today declared a 14-year-old girl — born in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur to a Malaysian father and Myanmar mother and subsequently adopted by a Malaysian couple — as a Malaysian citizen.
The High Court decision comes after the child has spent 11 years making multiple attempts to be recognised as a Malaysian citizen. The child is due to turn 15 later this year.
Surendra Ananth, one of the lawyers for the child, confirmed the decision earlier today by High Court judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
“The High Court allowed our client’s citizenship application under section 1(e). The judge granted us a declaration to that effect and also granted two mandamus orders to compel the Respondents to change the citizenship status in the birth certificate and issue a blue IC,” he told Malay Mail, following the High Court’s hearing and decision earlier today through the video-conferencing platform Zoom.
In the interests of the child, Malay Mail is withholding the child’s name. For ease of reference, the child will be referred to as W.
On January 7, 2020, the child W along with her adoptive father had filed a lawsuit through a judicial review application, naming five respondents, namely the Registrar of Births and Deaths, the Registrar-General of Births and Deaths, the National Registration Director-General, the Home Minister and the Malaysian government.
This is the lawsuit that the child and her adoptive father won today in the High Court.
Lawyers Calvin Khoo and Gasper Wun also represented the child, while the respondents were represented by the Attorney General’s Chambers’ senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin.
MORE TO COME