Adopted children do not automatically acquire Malaysian citizenship; citizenship is determined exclusively by the biological parents' status at birth.

JUDGMENT

Noorin Badaruddin J:

[1] This originating summons is filed by the Plaintiffs seeking a declaration that the 2nd Plaintiff is a Malaysian citizen in accordance with art 15A of the Federal Constitution ("FC") and various other reliefs.

Background Facts

[2] The 1st Plaintiff is a Malaysian citizen and was married to Mark Lewis Arputham, a Malaysian citizen on 8 January 2011.

[3] The 2nd Plaintiff was born on 2 June 2013 at a private clinic in Cheras. He was registered under s 12 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 at the National Registration Department on the same day. A Birth Certificate with registration number 0419981XA was issued to him, in which, the information of his father is stated to be unknown and his biological mother is Yuliana, an Indonesian citizen.

[4] The 2nd Plaintiff was adopted by the 1st Plaintiff who then made an application for adoption and the 2nd Plaintiff was legally adopted by the 1st Plaintiff pursuant to an Adoption Order given by the Sessions Court on 8 August 2014.

[5] Subsequently, the 1st Defendant issued a new birth certificate dated 18 August 2015 under the name of Ashton Hayden Arputham to the 2nd Plaintiff. The citizenship status of the 2nd Plaintiff on the post-adoption birth certificate is stated to be, 'Bukan Warganegara' or non-citizen.

[6] On 27 June 2015, an application was made to register the 2nd Plaintiff as a citizen of Malaysia. The Plaintiffs have yet to receive any response on the said application.

Issues

[7] The various reliefs sought by the Plaintiffs and the facts of the present matter raise two (2) main issues before this Court and they are as follows:

(i) Whether a child who is legally adopted and where the adopters are named in the post-adoption birth certificate as the parents, qualifies the child for citizenship by way of operation of law pursuant to the Adoption Order read with ss 9 and 25A of the Adoption Act 1952 ("AA") and art 14(1) (b) and s 1(a) Part II, Second Schedule of the FC; and

(ii) Whether an illegitimate child born to a non-citizen mother of known citizenship is a stateless person for the purpose of acquiring citizenship under art 14(1)(b) read together with s 1(e) Part II, Second Schedule of the FC.

Findings

[8] Article 14 in Part III of the FC is the constitutional provision relating to acquisition of citizenship by operation of law. It provides:

"Citizenship by operation of law

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the following persons are citizens by operation of law, that is to say:

(a) every person born before Malaysia Day who is a citizen of the Federation by virtue of the provisions contained in Part I of the Second Schedule; and

(b) every person born on or after Malaysia Day, and having any of the qualifications specified in Part II of the Second Schedule."

[9] Citizenship by operation of law of persons born on or after Malaysia Day is specified in Part II Second Schedule of the FC which are as follows:

"PART II

[Article 14(1) (b)]

CITIZENSHIP BY OPERATION OF LAW OF PERSONS

BORN ON OR AFTER MALA YSIA DAY

1. Subject to the provisions of Part III of this Constitution, the following persons born on or after Malaysia Day are citizens by operation of law, that is to say:

(a) every person born within the Federation of whose parents one at least is at time of the birth either a citizen or permanently resident in the Federation; and

(b) every person born outside the Federation whose father is at the time of the birth a citizen and either was born in the Federation or is at the time of the birth in the service of the Federation or of a State; and

(c) every person born outside the Federation whose father is at the time of the birth a citizen and whose birth is, within one year of its occurrence or within such longer period as the Federal Government may in any particular case allow, registered at a consulate of the Federation or, if it occurs in Brunei or in a territory prescribed for this purpose by order of the Yang diPertuan Agong, registered with the