Zaleha Yusof JCA:

[1] The High Court at Kuala Lumpur had on 23 August 2017 dismissed the appellants' Originating Summons which inter alia sought for a declaration that the 1st appellant is a Malaysian citizen pursuant to art 14(1)(b) or under art 15(2) of the Federal Constitution ( FC ). Hence, the appeal before us by the appellant. However, before us, learned counsel for the appellants informed us that the appellants were not pursuing art 15(2) but confined their appeal to only art 14(1)(b) of the .

[2] The 2nd appellant, a Malaysian at the time of the birth of the 1st appellant, is the biological father of the 1st appellant. The 1st appellant's mother is a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines. The 1st appellant was born on 27 September 2010 in the Philippines but his biological parents only legally registered their marriage in Malaysia on 22 February 2011. Hence the 1st appellant was an illegitimate child at the time of his birth.

Issues

(1) Can a child born out of wedlock be regarded as a legitimate child for the purpose of art 14(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution , once his parents marry each other after he was born, hence s 17 of Part III of the Second Schedule